Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is India's largest
professional accounting body A professional accounting body is an organization or association of accountants in a particular jurisdiction. Usually a person needs to be a member of such professional body to hold out to the public of the jurisdiction as an accountant. The de ...
under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory body under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
for promotion, development and regulation of the
profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted b ...
of Chartered Accountancy in India. In India, accounting standards and auditing standards are recommended by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to the Government of India which sets the Standards on Auditing (SAs) to be followed in the
audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
of
financial statements Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...
in India. The other reputed accounting research bodies in India are the Institute of Cost Accountants of India ( ICMAI) and
University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...
, University of Calicut and
University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...
. Members of the Institute are known as ''ICAI Chartered Accountants'' or ''ICAI Accountants'' (either
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...
or Associate). However, the word chartered does not refer to or flow from any
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
. ICAI Chartered Accountants are subject to a published
Code of Ethics Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of b ...
and professional standards, violation of which is subject to disciplinary action. Only a member of ICAI can be appointed as statutory auditor of a company under the
Companies Act, 2013 The Companies Act 2013 is an Act of the Parliament of India on Indian company law which regulates incorporation of a company, responsibilities of a company, directors, dissolution of a company. The 2013 Act is divided into 29 chapters containin ...
. The management of the institute is vested with its council with the president acting as its Chief Executive Authority. A person can become a member of ICAI and become a financial (i.e. statutory) auditor of Indian Companies. The professional membership organization is known for its non-profit service. ICAI has entered into mutual recognition agreements with other professional accounting bodies worldwide for reciprocal membership recognition. ICAI is one of the founder members of the
International Federation of Accountants The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the global advocacy organization for the accountancy profession; mainly for the financial accounting and auditing professions. Founded in 1977, IFAC has more than 175 members and associates in ...
(IFAC),
South Asian Federation of Accountants The South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) is a forum of professional accounting bodies in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region of eight nations. It works in the public interest and towards broad economic devel ...
(SAFA), and
Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) is a regional organization representing 33 national professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) operating in Asia and the Pacific. These PAOs, referred to as CAPA’s members, represent ...
(CAPA). ICAI was formerly the provisional jurisdiction for
XBRL International XBRL International (XII) is the international standards organization A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is develo ...
in India. In 2010, it promoted eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) India as a section 8 Company to take over this responsibility from it. Now, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) India is an established jurisdiction of XBRL International Inc. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India was established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 passed by the Parliament of India with the objective of regulating the accountancy profession in India.Act No. XXXVIII of 1949. See
"Chartered Accountants Act 1949 as amended in 2006"
/ref> ICAI is the second largest professional accounting body in the world in terms of number of membership and number of students after the AICPA. It prescribes the qualifications for a Chartered Accountant, conducts the requisite examinations and grants Certificate of Practice.


History

The Companies Act, 1913 passed in pre-independent India prescribed various books which had to be maintained by a Company registered under that Act. It also required the appointment of a formal
Auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and ...
with prescribed qualifications to audit such records. In order to act as an auditor, a person had to acquire a restricted certificate from the local government upon such conditions as may be prescribed. The holder of a restricted certificate was allowed to practice only within the province of an issue and in the language specified in the restricted certificate. In 1918 a course called Government Diploma in Accountancy was launched in Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics of Bombay (now known as
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
). On passing this diploma and completion of three years of articled training under an approved accountant, a person was held eligible for grant of an unrestricted certificate. This certificate entitling the holder to practice as an auditor throughout India. Later on, the issue of restricted certificates was discontinued in the year 1920. In 1930, it was decided that the
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
should maintain a register called the Register of Accountants. Any person whose name was entered in such register was called a ''Registered Accountant''. Later on a board called the Indian Accountancy Board was established to advise the Governor General of India on accountancy and the qualifications for auditors. However, it was felt that the accountancy profession was largely unregulated, and this caused much confusion as regards the qualifications of auditors. Hence in the year 1948, just after independence in 1947, an expert committee was created to look into the matter. This expert committee recommended that a separate
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...
association of accountants should be formed to regulate the profession. The Government of India accepted the recommendation and passed the Chartered Accountants Act in 1949 even before India became a republic. Under section 3 of the said Act, ICAI is established as a
body corporate In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
with
perpetual succession In company law, perpetual succession is the continuation of a corporation's or other organization's existence despite the death, bankruptcy, insanity, change in membership or an exit from the business of any owner or member, or any transfer of ...
and a
common seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared ...
. Unlike most other
commonwealth countries The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a ...
, the word chartered does not refer to a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
, since India is a republic. At the time of passing the Chartered Accountants Act, various titles used for similar professionals in other countries were considered, such as
Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
. This designation inherited a general public impression that Chartered Accountants had better qualifications than Registered Accountants. Hence the accountants were very stern in their stand that, the Indian accountancy professionals should be designated only as Chartered Accountants. After much debate in the Indian Constituent Assembly, the controversial term, chartered was accepted. When the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 came into force on 1 July 1949, the term Chartered Accountant superseded the title of Registered Accountant. This day is celebrated as Chartered Accountants day every year. On 23 September 2019 chartered accountancy students organized protests under leadership of teacher CA Praveen Sharma, named "''Dear ICAI please change''" at over 200 institute branches across India and on social media demanding among other things right to re-checking of CA exam answer sheets. At present as per CA regulations, re-checking of answer sheets are not allowed. Students were demanding this right since 2018. A protest was also called in December, 2018 but after assurance by the council and formation of a committee to review the examination process the protest was called off. Students were able to gather support of many public figures which includes Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Past President of ICAI Mr. N. D. Gupta, renowned accountant Mr. Motilal Oswal, Mr. Mohandas Pai, Mr. Raghav Chadha, etc. on social media.


Motto

The
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. ...
of the ICAI is ''Ya Aeshu Suptaeshu Jagruti'' (Sanskrit), which literally means "a person who is awake in those that sleep". It is a
quotation A quotation is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from speech or text that someone has said or written. In oral speech, it is the representation of an utterance (i.e. of something that a speaker actually said) that is introduced by ...
from the
Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
(Kathopanishad). It was given to the ICAI at the time of its formation in 1949 by
Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined th ...
as a part of its emblem. CA. C. S. Shastri, a Chartered Accountant from
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of t ...
went to Sri Aurobindo and requested him through a letter to give an emblem to the newly formed Institute of which he was an elected member from the
Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
. In reply to this request, Sri Aurobindo gave him the emblem with a
Garuda Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is ...
, the
mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
eagle in the center and a quotation from the Upanishad: Ya Aeshu Suptaeshu Jagruti. The emblem along with the motto was placed at the first meeting of the Council of the Institute and was accepted amongst many other emblems placed by other members of the council. Apart from its emblem, ICAI also has a separate logo for its members. As a part of a brand building exercise, ICAI introduced this separate new CA logo for the use of its members in 2007. The logo is free for use by all members of ICAI subject to certain conditions. The logo was launched by the then Minister of Corporate Affairs, Prem Chand Gupta at the occasion of the Chartered Accountant Day (1 July) in the presence of the then President of ICAI Sunil Talati. Members of ICAI cannot use the ICAI emblem, but they are encouraged to use the CA logo instead on their official stationery.


International affiliations

ICAI is a founder member of the
International Federation of Accountants The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the global advocacy organization for the accountancy profession; mainly for the financial accounting and auditing professions. Founded in 1977, IFAC has more than 175 members and associates in ...
(IFAC),
South Asian Federation of Accountants The South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) is a forum of professional accounting bodies in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region of eight nations. It works in the public interest and towards broad economic devel ...
(SAFA), and
Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) is a regional organization representing 33 national professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) operating in Asia and the Pacific. These PAOs, referred to as CAPA’s members, represent ...
(CAPA) and International Innovation Network (IIN). ICAI is an Associate member of the Chartered Accountants Worldwide, Member of International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC).


Membership

Members of the Institute are known as Chartered Accountants. Becoming a member requires passing the prescribed examinations, 36 months of practical training and meeting other requirements under the Act and Regulations. The institute has more than 3,30,000 members currently.


Associates and fellows

Generally, associates are members of the institute with less than five years of membership after which they become entitled to apply for being a fellow member. Some associate members, particularly those not in practice, often voluntarily chose not to apply to be a fellow due to a variety of reasons. An associate member who has been in continuous practice in India or has worked for a commercial or government organization for at least five years and meets other conditions as prescribed can apply to the institute to get designated as a "Fellow". Responsibilities and voting rights of both types of members remain the same but only fellows can be elected to the council and regional councils of ICAI. Fellows are perceived as enjoying a higher status due to their long professional experience.


Practicing Chartered Accountants

Any member wanting to engage in public practice has to first apply for and obtain a ''Certificate of Practice (COP)'' from the Council of ICAI. Only members holding a Practicing Certificate may act as statutory auditors of Indian companies. In India, an individual Accountant, a
firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared g ...
or a
Limited Liability Partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...
of Accountants can practice the profession of Accountancy. Companies in India cannot practice profession of accountancy.


Role of Chartered Accountants

Chartered accountants work in all fields of business and finance, including auditing, taxation, financial and general management. Some are engaged in public practice work, others work in the private sector and some are employed by government bodies.


Council of the institute

The management of the affairs of the institute is undertaken by a council constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The council consists of 32 elected fellow members and up to 8 members nominated by the
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. The elected members of the council are elected under the
single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system by the members of the institute. The council is re-elected every three years. The council elects two of its members to be president and vice-president who hold office for one year. The president is the chief executive authority of the council.


Regions and branches

ICAI has five regions : Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern and Central. As on 15 July 2019, ICAI have 164 Branches so far. Out of total 164 Branches, 99 branches are having their own premises which include 14 Branches (presently functioning from Rented Premises) who have procured land on which construction is either commenced or construction is under-way. 16 Branches (functioning from own premises) have procured land where either construction has started or construction is under-way. 51 Branches do not own either land or building.


Presidents

ICAI's first president was Mr. G.P. Kapadia (1949 to 1952). CA (Dr.) Debashish Mitra is the current president.


Code of ethics

The institute has a detailed code of ethics and actions in contravention of such code results in disciplinary action against the erring members. The institute publishes a members' handbook containing the Chartered Accountants Act 1949, Chartered Accountants Regulations 1988, Professional Opportunities for Members – an Appraisal, Code of Ethics and Manual for members. These together form the basis of regulation of the profession. The council also has a Peer Review Board that ensures that in carrying out their professional attestation services assignments, the members of the institute (a) comply with the Technical Standards laid down by the institute and (b) have in place proper systems (including documentation systems) for maintaining the quality of the attestation services work they perform.


Disciplinary process

The Disciplinary Directorate, the Board of
Discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
, and the Disciplinary
Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
form the foundation of the disciplinary process of the institute. These entities are quasi-judicial and have substantial powers like that of a Civil Court to summon and enforce attendance or require discovery and production of documents on
affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
or otherwise. The Disciplinary Directorate is headed by an officer designated as Director (Discipline). On receipt of any information or complaint that a member has allegedly engaged in any misconduct, the Director (Discipline) shall arrive at a
prima facie ''Prima facie'' (; ) is a Latin expression meaning ''at first sight'' or ''based on first impression''. The literal translation would be 'at first face' or 'at first appearance', from the feminine forms of ''primus'' ('first') and ''facies'' (' ...
opinion An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with ...
whether or not there is any misconduct. If the Director (Discipline) is of the opinion that the misconduct is covered by the items listed in the first schedule of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, he/she shall refer the case to the Board of Discipline. If he/she is of the Opinion that the case is covered by the Second Schedule or both schedules of the CA Act, he/she will refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee. If the Board of Discipline finds a member guilty of professional or other misconduct, it may at its discretion reprimand the member, remove the name of the member from the register of members for up to three months or impose a fine up to 1,00,000/-. If the Disciplinary Committee finds a member guilty of professional or other misconduct, it may at its discretion reprimand the member, remove the name of the member from the register of members permanently or impose a fine up to 5,000/-. Any member aggrieved by any order may approach the Appellate Authority. It should be borne in mind that this disciplinary proceeding is not in lieu of or an alternative for criminal proceedings in a court. Criminal proceedings against a Chartered Accountant and disciplinary action by ICAI are two separate issues and one need not wait for another to be completed first.


Actions

One of the public actions of The ICAI Disciplinary Committee in the 2009–2010 time period was proceedings for professional misconduct against two auditors from the firm Price Waterhouse partners for wrongly auditing and inflating the financial statements of Satyam Computer Services Limited. The
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
(November 2010) rejected a plea by the two charged auditors to stay the proceedings by the ICAI Disciplinary committee. The court's order came in response to the pleas of the charged auditors seeking a stay on the disciplinary proceedings against them on the ground that it violated their
fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Sustai ...
against self-incrimination under Article 20 (3) of the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
. Other publicized actions included, the SEBI referred case of a brokerage firm, Karvy, in which the internal auditors, Haribhakti & Co (an associate of
BDO Global BDO (an acronym for Binder Dijker Otte) is an international network of public accounting, tax, consulting and business advisory firms that provide professional services under the name BDO. It is the fifth-largest accounting network in the worl ...
). were held guilty of negligence for failing to detect thousands of demat accounts being opened with the same address. The committee has also taken action against members for alleged irregularities in the books of Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra and the role played by their auditors. The names of the members found guilty of misconduct are published on ICAI's website. The ICAI website lists 35 as the number of cases in which inquiry was completed by the Disciplinary Committee in the past one year since February 2010. The list of members held guilty of professional or other misconduct is published periodically.


Request for more power

Many of the recent financial frauds and scams related to organizations that had multinational accounting firms as their auditors. These multinational firms cannot legally practice in India but they are practicing in India by surrogate means, operating through tie-ups with local firms, though the partners involved are from India, since only a member of the institute can be an auditor of an Indian entity. The example for this is an elaborate list, Price Waterhouse in case of Global Trust Bank Scam, again Price Waterhouse in Satyam Computer Services Limited scam, Ernst and Young in the Maytas case. ICAI lacks jurisdictional powers to punish these or for that matter any firm, as under its current regulations it only has the power to proceed against individual members. The institute has asked the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India to grant additional powers so that it may proceed against firms whose partners or employees are frequent offenders. ICAI also has sent a proposal to the Government of India to amend the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 in order to enable to it to impose a fine of 1,00,00,000/- on audit firms if they are found guilty of colluding with companies to commit a fraud.


Qualification

A person is eligible to apply for membership either by passing all three levels of examinations ( Foundation, Intermediate and Final ) prescribed by ICAI and completing 36 months of practical training or by availing themselves of exemptions under mutual recognition agreement (MRAs). ICAI has MRAs and MOUs with the
CPA Canada Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) (french: Comptables professionnels agréés du Canada) is the national organization representing the Canadian accounting profession through the unification of the three largest accounting o ...
,
ICAEW The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...
,
CPA Australia CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia founded in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world. CPA Australia currently has 1 ...
, CPA Ireland.


Examination

Entry to the profession can be made by taking the CA Foundation Course after completion of schooling (12th grade). Alternatively, graduates may train as an articled assistant for three years in a chartered firm before final exam or after completion of Intermediate of Cost Accountant or Company Secretary. A comprehensive 100 hours of information technology training and an orientation programme for soft skills development have to be completed before being articled. ICAI will soon introduce a "New Scheme for Education and Training", wherein emphasis would be more on development of higher order skills of application, analysis and interpretation. A special feature of the new scheme would be the mandatory multi-disciplinary case study at the Final level, which would help students integrate professional knowledge in different subject areas, analyse and apply such knowledge in problem solving. The scheme also intends to focus more on practical training and will also offer self-paced online modules, where in working students can learn and qualify at their own pace. ICAI has entered into an agreement with
Indira Gandhi National Open University Indira Gandhi National Open University, known as IGNOU, is a Central University located at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi, India. Named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of 20& ...
(IGNOU), to help CA students acquire a
Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
and master's degree by writing six papers / five papers respectively. For example, a bachelor's degree in Commerce can be obtained from IGNOU with a major in accounting and finance provided the student is able to provide the grades received in Foundation and Intermediate and pass the term end examination conducted by IGNOU. Similarly based on the grades in Final would be taken for Masters. This initiative has helped a lot of students attain both the degrees without any duplication of subjects and credits. ICAI offers study materials and describes the syllabus in great detail via a prospectus. While ICAI claims that this study material on the website is sufficient for motivated students to study, most students opt to attend oral coaching classes or learn from
e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
portals.


Membership through MRA

The second method of obtaining membership is through mutual recognition agreements or MRAs. ICAI has entered into MRAs with several institutes globally, of equivalent standing, to enable members of those institutes to acquire membership of ICAI and to enable the members of ICAI to gain membership of its counterpart in other countries. This is done by granting some exemptions in the regular scheme of examination and training. ICAI currently has MRAs with following professional accounting bodies: * Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal *
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members ...
(since 20 November 2008) *
CPA Australia CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia founded in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world. CPA Australia currently has 1 ...
(originally signed in February 2009 and re-signed in September 2014) *
CPA Canada Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) (french: Comptables professionnels agréés du Canada) is the national organization representing the Canadian accounting profession through the unification of the three largest accounting o ...
* CPA Ireland * The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants *
CPA Australia CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia founded in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world. CPA Australia currently has 1 ...
* Chartered Accountants New Zealand * National Board of Accountants & Auditors, Tanzania * Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya ICAI is also in the process of negotiating MRAs with
Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA, ) is the professional accounting body of Hong Kong. Its main responsibilities are: *Registering accountants and issuing practising certificates. *Regulating the professional con ...
and Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.


Technical co-operation agreements

The ICAI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with professional accounting bodies of various countries. These MOUs aim at establishing mutual co-operation between the two institutions for the advancement of accounting knowledge, professional and intellectual development, advancing the interests of their respective members and positively contributing to the development of the accounting profession. Currently ICAI has MOUs with following professional accounting bodies: * Accounting and Auditing Standards Board of Bhutan,
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
(signed on 22 November 2013) * The Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
* Higher Colleges of Technology,
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
(signed on 4 January 2011) * College of Banking and Financial Studies,
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
* Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal The MoUs with CPA Afghanistan and Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) are in pipeline.


Placement

The institute maintains a placement portal on its web site for qualified members and partially qualified students. This is supplemented with campus placement events and advertising through its professional journals and website. Average Placement Package of a Fresher Chartered Accountant is around 9-10Lakhs but around 50-60% Students accepting the job offer. In early 2010, the ICAI placed three of its freshly qualified Associates, at a record annual salary of US$260,000 each(₹1.17Cores), at Singapore-based agriculture supply chain major
Olam International Olam International is a major food and agri-business company, operating in 60 countries and supplying food and industrial raw materials to over 20,900 customers worldwide. Its value chain includes farming, origination, processing and distributi ...
.


Technical standards

ICAI formulates and issues technical standards to be followed by Chartered Accountants and others. Non-compliance of these standards by the members will lead to disciplinary action against them. The technical standards issued by ICAI include Accounting Standards, Engagement, and Quality Control Standards, Standards on Internal Audit, Corporate Affairs Standard, Accounting Standards for Local Bodies, etc.


Accounting Standards

, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has issued 32 Accounting Standards. These are numbered AS-1 to AS-7 and AS-9 to AS-32 (AS-8 & AS-6 is no longer in force since it was merged with AS-26 and AS-10). Compliance with accounting standards issued by ICAI has become a statutory requirement with the notification of Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006 by the Government of India. Before the constitution of the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards ( NACAS), the institute was the sole accounting standard setter in India. However NACAS is not an independent body. It can only consider accounting standards recommended by ICAI and advise the Government of India to notify them under the Companies Act, 2013. Further, the Accounting Standards so notified are applicable only to companies registered under the companies act, 2013. For all other entities, the accounting standards issued the ICAI continue to apply.


Convergence with IFRS

The inception of the idea of
convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four We ...
of Indian GAAP with
IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards, commonly called IFRS, are accounting standards issued by the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They constitute a standardised way of describing the company's f ...
was made by the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh by committing in
G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...
to align Indian accounting standards with IFRS. As per the original roadmap for implementation of IFRS-converged Ind AS issued by the Government of India, initially, Ind AS were expected to be implemented from the year 2011. However, keeping in view the fact that certain issues including tax issues were still to be addressed, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs decided to postpone the date of implementation of Ind AS. For a smooth transition to IFRS, ICAI has taken up the matter of convergence with the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards and various regulators such as the RBI, SEBI and IRDA, CBDT. IASB, the issuer of IFRS, is also supporting the ICAI in its endeavors towards convergence. ICAI has revised/formulated Ind AS on the basis of the amendments and new IFRS issued by the IASB subsequent to February 2011. IFRS-converged Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) has been implemented in India in a phased manner from 1 April 2015 being the voluntary date of adoption of Ind AS. The mandatory application of Ind AS has been restricted to listed and unlisted companies with a net worth of Rs. 500 crore and above from the accounting year beginning on or after 1 April 2016. With effect on 1 April 2017, all listed companies and unlisted companies having a net worth of Rs. 250 crore and above would be required to prepare their financial statements in accordance with the applicable Ind AS. Banks and NBFCs are also required to implement Ind AS on 1 April 2018 onwards based on the criteria of net worth. In order to ensure that these standards are implemented in the same spirit in which these have been formulated, ICAI has been providing guidance to members through its various initiatives such as the issuance of Educational Materials on Ind AS containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For addressing transition and implementation related queries clarifications on a timely basis are also being issued by the ICAI. Queries raised are also addressed through Support-desk for implementation of Ind AS. Apart from this, Certificate Course on Ind AS, In-house training programmes on Ind AS for corporate and regulatory bodies are also being organized to educate and train the members on these standards.


Engagement and Quality Control Standards

Engagement and Quality Control Standards comprises the following Standards: 1 Standards on Auditing (SAs), to be applied in the audit of historical financial information. 2 Standards on Review Engagements (SREs), to be applied in the review of historical financial information. 3 Standards on Assurance Engagements (SAEs), to be applied in assurance engagements, other than audits and reviews of historical financial information. 4 Standards on Related Services (SRSs), to be applied to engagements involving the application of agreed-upon procedures to information, compilation engagements, and other related services engagements, as may be specified by the ICAI. The aforesaid Standards are collectively known as Engagement Standards. 5. Standards on Quality Control (SQCs) – These Standards are to be applied for all services covered by the Engagement Standards as described above. ICAI has issued 46 Engagement and Quality Control Standards (formerly known as Auditing and Assurance Standards) covering various topics relating to
auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...
and other engagements. These standards have been harmonized with the
International Standards international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization is the International O ...
issued by the IAASB of the IFAC except for two standards i.e. ISA 600 and ISAE 3000.


Forensic Accounting and Investigation Standards (FAIS)

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has constituted a committee to deliberate on FAIS, which are expected to be framed by the end of this year 2020. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India will be the first body in the accounting world to develop a full set of FAIS standards for forensic professionals and stakeholders, The proposed standards would help Forensic Accounting and Investigation professionals to conduct their examinations in a highly professional manner and collect evidences which may be subject to high level of scrutiny in a court of law.


Notable members


Finance and accounting

*
Srikant Datar Srikant Datar is an Indian-American economist and the Dean of Harvard Business School. At Harvard, he concurrently serves as the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration. In 2021, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highe ...
, Dean of
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time ...
*
Radhe Shyam Agarwal Radhe Shyam Agarwal (also known as R S Agarwal) is an Indian entrepreneur, co-founder and executive chairman of Emami, a global group of company engaged in the business of FMCG, paper, real estate, edible oils, health care and cement. Radhe is ...
, co-founder and Executive Chairman of
Emami Emami Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, India. This group trades with their tag name Himani. The company has seven manufacturing units across India and one overseas unit. The Company caters to a nu ...
* Srikanth Balachandran, Global CHRO of
Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Current ...
* Pramod Bhasin, President, CEO, Genpact *
Kumar Mangalam Birla Kumar Mangalam Birla (born 14 June 1967) is an Indian billionaire industrialist, philanthropist, Chartered Accountant and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest global conglomerates in India. He is also the chancellor of t ...
, chairman of Aditya Birla Group * Parvataneni Brahmayya, founder of Brahmayya & Co., first CA firm in India *Nitin Soni,CEO of Adhayyan Books International *
Piyush Goyal Piyush Vedprakash Goyal (born 13 June 1964) is a politician, chartered accountant and cabinet minister of the Government of India having portfolios such as Minister of Textiles, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of Consumer Aff ...
, Incumbent Minister of Commerce & Industry, Minister of Railways, Former Minister of Coal, Former Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs,
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
* Niranjan Hiranandani, real estate businessman, founder of
Hiranandani Group Hiranandani Group was established in 1978 by Niranjan Hiranandani and Surendra Hiranandani and is based in Mumbai, India. The group is one of the largest real estate developers in India with projects across Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyder ...
* *
Krish Iyer Krish Iyer was the President and CEO of Walmart India. Walmart is the world's largest retailer. Early life Iyer was born in Mumbai, India and holds a bachelor's degree(Hons) in Commerce and Economics from Sydenham College Mumbai. Iyer is a Ch ...
, CEO of Walmart India * Nirmal Jain, founder and chairman of IIFL * Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, investor * Shekar Kapur, film director * Naina Lal Kidwai, first Indian woman who pursued MBA from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
, Group General Manager and Country Head of
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
India * T. K. Kurien, CEO of Wipro *
Keki Mistry Keki M. Mistry (born 7 November 1954) is the vice chairman and CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). Early life Mistry was born on 7 November 1954 in Mumbai India to a Parsi family. Mistry completed his school education from ...
, ex-CEO of HDFC Bank * R. S. Lodha, former chairman of Birla Corporation * Vinay Maloo, founder and chairman of Enso Group * T. N. Manoharan,
Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferr ...
awardee *
Keki Mistry Keki M. Mistry (born 7 November 1954) is the vice chairman and CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). Early life Mistry was born on 7 November 1954 in Mumbai India to a Parsi family. Mistry completed his school education from ...
, vice chairman and CEO of HDFC Bank * Keshav R Murugesh, Group CEO of WNS Global Services * George Alexander Muthoot, CEO of Muthoot Group * Dinesh Nandwana, founder and managing director and CEO of Vakrangee Limited * V. G. Narayanan, Professor of Accounting & Management, Harvard Business School, USA * Motilal Oswal, chairman and MD of Motilal Oswal Group * T.V. Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education, former CFO of
Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the ...
, Padma Shri awardee *
Girish Paranjpe Girish Paranjpe is a venture capitalist. History General Partner with Exfinity Venture Partners . Exfinity invests in deep tech start ups typically at early stage. Girish was also Operating Partner with a global Private Equity fund. Girish ...
, venture capitalist *
Deepak Parekh Deepak Parekh (born 18 October 1944) is an Indian businessman and the Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation, India's leading housing private development finance institution. It is based in Mumbai. Education Parekh completed his ...
, Chairman of
Housing Development Finance Corporation Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) is an Indian private development finance institution based in Mumbai. It is a major housing finance provider in India. It also has a presence in banking, life and general insurance, ass ...
& HDFC Bank * Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, incumbent Sherpa of India to G20, former Minister of commerce, Minister of Railways, Minister for Civil Aviations,
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
* Aditya Puri, MD & CEO of HDFC Bank *
Aroon Purie Aroon Purie (born 1944) is the founder-publisher and editor-in-chief of ''India Today'', and former chief executive of the India Today Group. He is the managing director of Thomson Press (India) Limited and the chairman and managing director of ...
, founder and editor-in-chief of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
'' and Chief Executive of the
India Today Group 01 or '01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * 01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Son of Dave album), 2000 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''O1'' (Hiroyuki Sawan ...
* Chitra Ramkrishna, former CEO of National Stock Exchange (NSE) * Sethurathnam Ravi, former Chairman
Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange in ...
*
Prannoy Roy Prannoy Lal Roy (born 15 October 1949) is an Indian economist, chartered accountant, psephologist, journalist and author. He is the former executive co-chairperson of NDTV and is considered to be one of its co-founders, along with his wife R ...
, chairman of NDTV * Subhash Runwal, founder and chairman of Runwal Group * Dhivya Suryadevara, CFO of
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...
* N.J. Yasaswy, founder of the ICFAI Business School


Other domains

* Arun Singh, MP from Uttar Pradesh from 5 December 2019. Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary and Headquarter Incharge from 17 June 2015 * Subhash Chandra Baheria, Member of the 16th Lok Sabha, * Thomas Chazhikadan, Member of Parliament from Kottayam, Kerala * Raghav Chadha, MLA from Rajinder Nagar & Vice Chairman Delhi Jal Board, politician, AAP member * Anil R. Dave, Judge of the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
* Buddhadeb Guha, novelist * N. D. Gupta, Former President ICAI, Rajya Sabha Member From NCT of Delhi politician, Aam Aadmi Party * Vishaka Hari, singer of Harikatha *
Vijay Govindarajan Vijay Govindarajan (born 18 November 1949), popularly known as VG, is the Coxe Distinguished Professor (a Dartmouth-wide chair) at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business and Marvin Bower Fellow, 2015–16 at Harvard Business School. He ...
, ''NYT'' and ''WSJ'' best selling author, Coxe Distinguished Professor at Tuck School at Dartmouth * Gurumurthy, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, journalist * Bhupen Khakhar, painter * K. Rahman Khan, Minister of Minority Affairs in UPA-II, former Deputy Chairman of the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using sin ...
* Atul Satya Koushik, Indian theatre director and playwright * R. K. Kumar, former Minister of State for Finance * Pragnya Mohan, international sportsperson * * Harish Salve,
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished servic ...
, former Solicitor General of India * Narendra Kumar Salve, former Union minister and President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) * Kirit Somaiya, politician, MP for BJP * Sanjay Subrahmanyan, musician * Rameshwar Thakur, former Union Minister of India, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh * G. Venkateswaran, film producer * V. Vijayasai Reddy, Rajyasabha MP from YSRCP * Aman Gupta, Founder and CMO Boat Lifestyles


See also

*
Education in India Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Chi ...
* National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)


References


External links

*
Official ICAI Chandigarh News Website
{{Authority control 1949 establishments in India New Delhi Organizations established in 1949
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
Professional associations based in India Regulatory agencies of India Accounting in India Educational institutions established in the 1940s