Tag: ICAI

  • ICAI And CAG Launched Specialized Courses For 12th Pass Panchayat And Municipal Accountants, Here Are The Details |

    New Delhi: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have forged a collaborative initiative aimed at launching a comprehensive certificate course tailored for accountants engaged in the financial management of panchayats and municipalities. This joint endeavor introduces four specialized courses focusing on advanced accounting practices, each meticulously crafted to address the specific requirements of diverse governmental entities.

    Enrollment for these courses is facilitated through an exclusive platform hosted at lba.icaiarf.org.in, ensuring accessibility for interested candidates year-round. The courses, meticulously structured to accommodate professional commitments, are delivered entirely online, affording participants the flexibility to engage with course materials at their convenience, irrespective of geographical constraints.

    So, what exactly do these courses entail?

    The curriculum encompasses two distinct certificate programs, meticulously designed to cater to the unique operational dynamics prevalent across various tiers of governmental bodies. The first set of certificate courses caters to accountants operating within panchayats, bifurcated into Level 1 tailored for gram panchayats and Level 2 targeting district and block panchayats. Additionally, specialized certificate courses are available for municipal entities, with Level 1 catering to Nagar Panchayats and Level 2 focusing on municipal corporations and municipalities. The overarching goal of these meticulously curated programs is to equip accountants with the requisite skills and expertise essential for effective financial management within their respective administrative spheres.

    But what awaits candidates upon successful completion of these courses?

    Graduates are conferred their certificates digitally, streamlining the certification process and facilitating instantaneous access to their credentials. Furthermore, the consortium maintains a publicly accessible registry of certificate holders on its website, fostering transparency and enabling seamless verification and acknowledgment of accomplishments.

    And there’s more – comprehensive study materials are provided to aid candidates in their preparatory endeavors. These resources include an array of e-study materials accessible online, prerecorded revisionary lectures for thorough review, and MCQ-based tests to facilitate practice and evaluation. Moreover, dedicated live virtual revisionary sessions, tailored specifically for the main examination, offer interactive platforms for enhanced comprehension and preparation. Currently available in 10 languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Oriya, Gujarati, Kannada, Bengali, and Punjabi, the study material is poised for expansion to encompass additional languages in the near future.

  • Artificial Intelligence To Save More Time For Chartered Accountants, says ICAI Prez |

    New Delhi: Artificial intelligence will provide a helping hand and free up a lot of time for chartered accountants to focus on analytical work, ICAI President Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal said on Wednesday and highlighted that there is a huge demand for chartered accountants.

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) expects there will be a need for around 30 lakh chartered accountants in the next 20 to 25 years and last year, around 22,000 students cleared the chartered accountants examination.

    At a briefing in the national capital, Agarwal, who took charge as the president on February 12, said a committee will be coming out with a roadmap in the next two months on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). (Also Read: Govt Plans For Simplification, Digitalisation Of KYC Process)

    He emphasised that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a tool and is saving a lot of time. “This will give you (chartered accountants) more time for application of mind, analytics… I believe AI is going to be a helping hand for the profession of chartered accountants so that they can focus more on other analytical areas”.

    Adding further, ICAI President said that “AI taking away the compliance part from the chartered accountants and giving them more scope to work on bigger areas… AI cannot overtake human intelligence,” 

    In the audit profession, for instance, to check a 700-page annual report of a listed company, one can make a PDF and put it in Chat GPT. Now, one doesn’t have to read the 700 pages as an auditor. “You have to ask the questions like what is the profitability, what is the adverse comment… Whatever you ask, Chat GPT will answer,” Agarwal said.

    Amid instances of chartered accountants coming under the regulatory scanner, Agarwal said the institute has self-developed “so many checks and balances”. The target is to have “lesser anomalies”, he said, adding that efforts are made to continuously enhance the skills of the chartered accountants. For non-compliances, ICAI is also taking action against members, he added. (Also Read: Salaries In India To Increase By 9.5% In 2024; Infra, Manufacturing Sectors Lead)

    The institute will also provide suggestions to the government on increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio as well as on green finance. The tax-to-GDP ratio, which is less than 3 per cent now, should improve for the country to become a developed economy by 2047. In the developed countries, the ratio is around 22 per cent, he noted.

    Besides, a committee will identify irrelevant laws and make suggestions in this regard to the government.