The 3rd Day of the World Congress of Accountants i.e. Olympics of Accountancy Profession wherein the conference held important discussions around Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Wealth Creation, Taxation and the key highlight of the 4 Day fest, Sustainability. Each session witnessed players from respective industry and thought leaders sharing their thoughts and ideology on the key topics that revolve around the economy, its growth through the development of the startup industry and wealth creation and the role of accountants in this ecosystem.

The special session was led by Mr. Sridhar Vembu, CEO, Zoho Corporation sharing his experience and thoughts on Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship wherein he spoke about balance and what causes imbalance in every aspect of business and accountancy. “Fundamental problems in the lack of value addition in rural areas forces people to migrate to urban cities leading to the imbalance of symmetry, the balance of capabilities, the sole factor affecting the GDP. Therefore, if a balance in value addition is created in the rural areas, the balance of capabilities is restored. This leads us to the balance of mind and nature also known as harmony, a principle cohesion within an economy and the balance of our mind that is contentment. Rebuilding the economic foundation on these 4 balancing legs we create what is I call, a spiritual economy helping businesses, humans and the earth”

CA. Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Minister during the session on Enhancing the Startup Eco System, said “Startups are a new catchword, but innovation has been there since the invention of fire, in today’s time the innovation of technology is one such idea and it drives innovation, backed by funds available giving us successful startups. Today India’s startup industry ranks 3rd in the world and can grow with a strong startup ecosystem much like US’s silicon valley. Through this ecosystem we can make any idea into a successful business venture, they can take a business venture into a level where in those who invest as well those who created the idea all benefit, a win-win formula”.

“Through this congress let us identify the problems and find out the entrepreneurial solution to those problems. I would urge all the members from the accountancy profession to find out if we can create ecosystem where we vet an idea and identify solutions reducing the rate of failure and offer it to the entrepreneurial community as a viable business idea in an early stage creating a startup with great potential to become a business venture”

Igniting Innovation in Global Professional Landscape by CA. Dilip B. Desai, Chairman, DHC International emphasized on 9 transformational actions that can impact the ignition of innovation in the global professional landscape. Namely, SMP focused global network where large firms are at strategic locations and SMPs globally, global center of excellence with borderless service organizations for the borderless business world, global network with MDF’s, Hybrid operating model for consulting verticals, creating a dual network - making a split of assurance and consulting services, public listing of consulting vertical, creating a global skill academy, foundation for policy advocacy, and making way for technology, trust and sustainability.

CA. (Dr.) Debashis Mitra, President, ICAI welcomed and reminisced about how he considers Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister to be the brand ambassador of the chartered accountancy profession in India.

One of the most important sessions of Day 3 led by Shri Piyush Goyal , Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India discussed Navigating the Global Economic Recovery. Here he said, “In the situation of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, true leaders are born, who have a deep understanding, the ability to decongest a situation with a clarity of vision and problem solving skills. Today, I see these kind of leaders at the WCOA; Chartered Accountants have that educational skill, capability, deep understanding, which is required to be the leaders for the change of tomorrow. And in this day and age when the world economies are under stress, I'm delighted to see this wonderful event that is drawn for WCOA and the efforts put in by ICAI, the regulatory body of this profession, be a role model for other institutes to come”

He further shared “The progress of India’s GDP in the last 25 – 30 years has improved by 11 times that is 270 billion to 3 trillion dollars today. We are working towards a vision to make India a ‘Developed Nation’ by 2047. To conclude, economic recovery for India is a world vision we believes in ‘One earth, one family, one future’ aka ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which is the theme of our G20 presidency starting from 1st of December 2022.”

To conclude the event CA. Aniket S. Talati, Vice-President, ICAI thanked Shri Piyush Goyal and cheered the India G20 theme motto and thanked all the other speakers who graced the stage of WCOA today.

The event held multiple sessions focusing on Taxation, Robust regulatory frameworks, technological digitization of corporate treasury, reliability of sustainable information, capital market for wealth creation, improvements in SME Reporting and overall scope of fintech.

About ICAI -

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No.XXXVIII of 1949) for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountancy in the country. The ICAI is the one of the premier accountancy body of the world, with a strong tradition of service to the Indian economy in public interest.

About WCOA -

The World Congress of Accountants is held once every four years and is popularly known as the "Olympics of Accountancy Profession". It is one of the most prestigious global events for Professional Accountants that is organized under the aegis of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession. It is a matter of great pride not only for the accounting profession in India but also for the entire country, as the World Congress is happening in India for the first time in 118 years of its existence on the theme “Building Trust Enabling Sustainability.”