The global economy is facing headwinds, and it is envisaged that India shall be emerging as the global growth engine with its strong economic performance as the fastest growing economy and a bright spot amidst the global economic uncertainties. India due to its strong prudential norms and regulatory policies has largely remained resilient from the global economic crisis of the past. As per IMF, the emerging markets and developing economies are expected to contribute 80 percent of the global growth in next few years and Indian economy is expected to make a contribution of 15 percent in this global growth. The meteoric rise is fuelled by a push to the regulatory reforms that has strengthened the fi nancial ecosystem to improve governance and transparency which has not only enabled the economy to withstand the pandemic but also navigated the revival of the economy.

As the economies are grappling from global challenges, India looks ahead to build itself into a Self-reliant economy by 2047. To realise and achieve this vision it is essential to build a resilient fi nancial ecosystem to anchor the growth as well as augmenting trust, transparency and inclusion amongst the stakeholders. Our profession has an onerous role to play in this journey by adding credence and consistency to ensure the holistic development of the nation. The profession realises the expectations of the stakeholders and will go a long way in enhancing its skills and expertise to lead the path ahead to be a catalyst to reforms creating value while upholding public confi dence.

“India has to be transformed into a developed nation, a prosperous nation and a healthy nation, with a value system.” - Dr. APJ Kalam

Our profession since its inception has been and will continue to protect the public trust and interest with our strong ideals, principles and Ethics. At this point I recall the words of our past President CA. R. C. Cooper as he mentioned 60 years back in 1963, “Ethics is a state of the mind, and there may be some act which, though it may not strictly fall under one of the items of the Schedule, may be one which may not be proper by any moral or ethical standards. In the larger interests of the Institute, the Council exhorts all members to search their hearts and conscience whenever in doubt, and thereby assist towards the maintenance of high principles of professional conduct established by the Council.”

I would urge you all to follow the ethics in all spheres of life. This will bring you the most coveted currency at all times i.e. Trust and Goodwill and will also keep on building profession’s legacy.

We had the occasion to organize a Strategy Meeting on 10th March 2023 at Hyderabad to review the journey of ICAI during its last 75 years in terms of changing expectations, evolving economic environment and regulatory requirements, advancement in technology and resources. During the course of the meeting deliberations were held on key focus areas & strategic matters and it was discussed to postulate future strategy of ICAI to develop our vision for the next 25 years i.e. Profession@100 so as to keep pace with the economic developments of the country and also meet the aspirations and expectations of the stakeholders from ICAI.

• ICAI as a Prime partner for B20
  
  Taking forward India’s economic growth story, the ICAI has become a prime partner with B20 dialogue. The partnership of ICAI with B20 as a Prime Partner refl ects our commitment to support the Government in making India a Vishwaguru. Today the global economy requires transparent, robust accounting standards and practices for sustainable development to provide for a better future. You will be pleased to know that Business 20 (B20) is the offi cial G20 dialogue forum with the global business community. Established in 2010, B20 is among the most prominent engagement Groups in G20, with companies and business organizations as participants. The B20 leads the process of galvanizing global business leaders for their views on global economic and trade governance issues and speaks in a single voice for the entire G20 business community.
  
  
• Meeting with Leaders
  
  I along with CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal - Vice President, ICAI met Dr. Bhagwat K. Karad, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Finance, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Shri Tejasvi Surya - Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during March 2023. Discussions were held on empowering the nation by making the common man and MSMEs fi nancially literate and tax-savvy through the ICAI’s Financial & Tax Literacy Drive Vitiyagyan -ICAI ka Abhiyaan to strengthen the economy. With these steps ICAI is joining hands with Government and other constituents to harness India’s full potential.
  
  
• KARTAVYA – Tax Awareness Initiative
  
  The Institute, as a measure of its responsibility towards national development had collaborated with the State Taxes Department of J&K Government, in organising Tax Awareness initiative - KARTAVYA (Kar Yogdaan, Rashtra Nirmaan), GST symposium for industries, traders association & other stakeholders to further stimulate the rate of compliance and productive Capacity in the state. On the occasion Chief Guest Shri Manoj Sinha Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor, J&K applauded the role of ICAI in nation building.

As it is said ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ The All India Managing Committee Members Meet (AIM) was organized on 13-14 March, 2023 in Mumbai. The objective was to work with a common vision for the profession by leveraging our leadership network and outreach amongst the stakeholders across the country to build the brand equity for the profession and make impactful contribution in the social economic development of the society.

Close to 1000 elected representatives of different Branches and Regional Councils of ICAI attended the meet. The meet provided an apt forum to come together and work towards the common vision of making ICAI the leading accounting body. I am sure together we can take the profession to newer heights and partnering with the country to achieve its vision of New India.

• Visit to Muscat, Oman
  
  I alongwith CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, Vice President, ICAI visited Muscat, Oman on March 15, 2023 met with H.E. Mr. Amit Narang, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, H.E. Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Government of Oman, H.E. Faisal Al Rawas, Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), and H.E. Mr. Pankaj Khimji, Advisor to Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion. During the meeting, various issues concerning the profession were discussed. We also attended the event by College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS), Oman.
  
  
• IFAC Board
  
  I along with CA. Atul Kumar Gupta, IFAC Board member and Past President, ICAI attended the IFAC Board Meeting on March 3-4, 2023 at New York. The meeting focused on sustainability as well as attracting and retaining talent and provided an apt forum to discuss issues relevant to the profession. IFAC Board appreciated the efforts made by ICAI in hosting the WCOA 2022.
  
  
• Meeting with delegation from the ICAEW
  
  I alongwith CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, Vice President, ICAI met with Mr. John Boulton, Director Policy and Ms. Vandana Saxena Poria, from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) on 16th March 2023 at ICAI, New Delhi. During the meeting, the two Institutes agreed to partner and collaborate with each other in the areas of mutual interest.
  
  

An Annual Interactive Meet of Central Statutory Auditors of Banks was organized on 14th March 2023 in Mumbai wherein more than 100 participants attended in person and 50 attended through virtual mode. During the Interactive meet, the ICAI shared that role of the CSAs has enhanced signifi cantly in ensuring the sound health of the banking and the fi nancial system of the country. The Chief General Manager, Department of Supervision, Reserve Bank of India, Shri Sivakumar Bose graced the session and shared his views on the topic “RBI’s perspective and Expectations from the Central Statutory Auditors and Supervisory Assessment on Divergences observed”.

Prior to this, a virtual interaction with CSAs of public sector banks was conducted on 6th March 2023 wherein discussions were held on the Circular released by RBI regarding (i) Revised Guidelines for Appointment/Re- appointment of Statutory Branch Auditors of Public Sector Banks; (ii) Norms on Business Coverage under Statutory Branch Audit of Public Sector Banks. During the meeting, ICAI shared its outlook on the coverage of the branches and the expected audit quality from the professionals. Additionally, ICAI emphasized that the CSAs should make sure that the fi nancial reporting requirements are benchmarked internationally in addition to ensuring that banks are in the pink of their health.

A post budget webinar on Financial Sector was held on 7th March, 2023 wherein the honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi had addressed the dignitaries from Financial Sector and said that today India is moving towards Financial Discipline, Transparency and Inclusive approach and emerging as the bright spot in global economy. Myself and Vice-President attended the webinar and later on I also participated in a Panel Discussion on ‘Ease of Doing Business’.

• Unique Digital Identity
  
  In another initiative towards building and leveraging brand CA, the ICAI has brought in domain ‘mail.ca.in’ to build unique digital identity for the profession which is paramount to succeed its presence in the digital environment. The members and students could build their unique digital identity empowering the brand ‘CA’ in digital marketplace.
  
  
• Online Process of Know Your Members
  
  With a view to collect member’s information and related documents for meeting the requirements for regulatory functions, ICAI has simplifi ed the process and launched “Know Your Member (KYM)” Application Form which is to be fi led annually through the Self-Service Portal (SSP) of the ICAI during the sidelines of AIM 2023. All the Members are required to submit the KYM Application Form mandatorily through the Self-Service Portal. In case of any diffi culty, please contact cromemfee@icai.in or ICAI Call Sahayataa.
  
  
• Excel Utility for Bank Audit
  
  To help the members in smooth conduct of branch audits of banks, the Centre for Audit Quality of ICAI has released an Excel Utility which is based on the procedures outlined in the Guidance Note on Audit of Banks and the Technical Guide on the Long Form Audit Report.
  
  

It is always endevour of the ICAI to provide best services and newer opportunities to be members and students at their doorstep. In this regard, the Council decided to open 3 new Chapters in USA at Ohio, Seattle and Arizona in this part. In addition, to broaden national coverage, new branch of WIRC at Gandhinagar has been approved. It was also decided that Tax invoice for the Membership Fee and CoP fee of members in practice and paid assistants containing information about the Firm/ LLP and the GSTIN may be issued based on the declaration given by the member. Further, to create more awareness it has been decided that Forensic Accounting and Investigation Standards and 2nd phase of Peer Review mandate will now be made mandatory from 1st July, 2023 instead of April 1, 2023.

Recently, ICAI organised First CA 40 under 40 Awards to recognise the onerous contributions of young and dynamic Chartered Accountants under the age of 40 who are visibly and gradually driving economic change across the industry by emerging as leaders. In all, 40 Young business leaders were felicitated during the awards ceremony held on 16th March, 2023 at New Delhi. These awards shall further inspire the young Chartered Accountants to keep up the exemplary work and bring glory to the profession.

The 57th Campus Placement of freshly qualified CA’s is in process and has been successfully conducted at 9 major centres in which around 10149 newly qualified Chartered Accountants participated and 4466 job offers were made by 111 organisations. As the Campus interviews will commence at 18 remaining small centres from 13th to 25th April, 2023, we shall have more offers for our newly qualified members. With this placement drive, the young members shall join the industry and I would advise all of them to work to with a growth mindset and be a learner life-long to succeed professionally. At this juncture, I would suggest my young colleagues to ponder about entrepreneurship and practice as with the expansion of the economy the opportunities are enormous and it also provides satisfaction to contribute to the nation’s growth.

In a civil suit filed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for the infringement of its Trademark ‘ICAI’, the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in interlocutory injunction has restrained the Institute of Cost Accountants of India from using ‘ICAI’ as an acronym for its Institution or for the services provided by it. The Hon’ble High Court has further directed that the Institute of Cost Accountants of India shall also take steps to ensure that the acronym ‘ICAI’ is removed from all physical and virtual media/websites where the Institute of Cost Accountants of India has its presence including all websites on the Internet as well as its social media platforms within 3 months.

In the last few years, the two major shift which shall continue to redefine the profession are Technology and Sustainability, providing newer professional avenues of growth in the future. As I see back in hindsight, the core strength of our profession is its ability to make meaningful impact in the society as we grow and evolve. I believe that our profession with its ability to reinvent itself with the changing time, shall work towards enhancing not only the Income but also the Social Capital of the country.

Our role is transcending beyond the defined boundaries to be a catalyst for change as we work with all strata of society. As a professional, we shall continue to raise our bar to meet the challenges and criticality of our times by being more resilient, innovative and development centric. To conclude, I exhort you all to identify an idea for the betterment of the society and work towards its implementation.

“Keep your words positive, because your words become your behaviours. Keep your behaviours positive, because your behaviours become your habits. Keep your habits positive, because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive, because your values become your destiny.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Let me extend my best wishes to you all for the new financial year.

Jai Hind, Jai ICAI