See what ICAI President Said on CA, CWA, and CS (Amendment) Act, 2022

Dear professional colleagues, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has always been proactive on the matters concerning the profession.

The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 17th December, 2022 and thereafter referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

The Bill was considered by both the Houses and passed by Lok Sabha on 30th March, 2022 and Rajya Sabha on 5th April, 2022 without any amendment. The same has received the assent of the Hon’ble President of India on 18th April, 2022. Some of the important provisions included in the Amendment Act are relating to the change in the composition of Board of Discipline and Disciplinary Committee including fixation of timelines for various disciplinary processes, formation of a Coordination Committee of the three professional institutes, and power to take actions against firms.

I would like to inform that many of the provisions including power to take actions against firms, enhanced penalty for falsely claiming to be a member, maintenance of Register of Firms, duration of the Council term were earlier recommended by the Institute only. The Act makes no mention of the Indian Institute of Accountants (IIA).

The Hon’ble Finance Minister stated in the Parliament during the course of debate that “I recognise the importance of the three pillars, the Chartered Accountants, the Cost Accountants and Company Secretaries in the corporate governance structure. The Hon’ble Minister also said the objective is also to strengthen all the three of them without, in any way, affecting the autonomy that they enjoy”.

Our reputation as an institution and as profession is built by sheer determination, continuous knowledge enrichment, readiness to lead the change and adapting to the evolving environment. The way our profession has adopted technology and transformed itself to support the economy during the pandemic is a testimony to its commitment, ethos and excellence.

In this dynamic scenario, we will continue to take all necessary steps and leave no stone unturned to further enhance the quality of the profession and work towards converting the challenges into opportunities. Let us have a look at some of the Institute’s recent activities

Recently, I alongwith Vice President CA. Aniket Sunil Talati met Chairperson, SEBI, Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch. ICAI is partnering with SEBI in its initiative of having Social Stock Exchange and is in the process of formulating the Standards for Social Audit, framework and Code of Conduct for Social Auditors who would function under the regulatory framework of Social Stock Exchange and conduct Social Audits. The meeting also discussed the importance of Digital Assurance and the need for the two regulators to join hands in the interest of the nation.

As you are aware, the ICAI is in the process of introducing a New Scheme for Education and Training. The new Scheme will be in conformity with the international best practices, aligned to National Education Policy 2020, expectations of the industry and technological advancements. The new Scheme was submitted for in-principle approval of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and recently on 8th April, 2022 detailed deliberations on the same were held with the Ministry.