The 65th Annual Function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was inaugurated by CA.Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of State(I/C), Ministry for Coal, Power, New & Renewable Energy on February 11, 2015 at New Delhi.

Acting Secretary, ICAI, Shri V.Sagar welcomed the Hon’ble Minister, CA. K.Raghu, President & CA. Manoj Fadnis, Vice-President, ICAI and distinguished gathering.

CA.Piyush Goyal, Chief Guest of the occasion complimented ICAI’s endeavor to be an active partner in Government’s various initiatives and said that ICAI has performed its role very well by making available a large base of world class Chartered Accountants and developing high quality financial reporting standards. “The Indian accounting profession has a long and distinguished history of guarding the integrity of financial statements. The members of the profession have the requisite knowledge and skills to exploit the challenges and convert them into opportunities.”

He appreciated ICAI initiative to help various govt. departments to switch over to accrual based accounting system. Shri Goyal asked ICAI to submit a paper specifying the benefits of migrating from cash based accounting system to accrual based accounting system as the migration will help the nation in transparent financial reporting. He also encouraged CA fraternity to engage with the Govt. and send their suggestions in taking forward the current initiatives planned by the Govt. He invited ICAI to get involved with the Sanitation programme of the Govt. by auditing the quality parameters, accountability of the money spent so that the project can be effectively executed.

Shri Goyal further added that IFRS will have an important role to play in the changing investment climate. ICAI has been making diligent efforts to ensure that the accounting and auditing standards are adapted to stay in synch with the global standards.

CA. K.Raghu, President, ICAI presided over the function where he thanked his Colleagues for all the encouragement and support. In his Presidential address, he highlighted the achievements of the Institute during the year and how it has been made possible to achieve almost all the targets which he had envisaged.

Addressing the function, President, ICAI stated “This occasion should not be mere celebration but the members of the profession should introspect the various developments taking place nationally and internationally and come out with their approach to address such situations so that the country gets the benefit of their advice.”

He further added “ICAI through its research arm, ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF) has recently signed a MoU with Employee's Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). As per the MoU, ICAI ARF will undertake a Pilot Study Project with EPFO to support it in its initiative to migrate to Accrual Based Accounting System. The project with EPFO represents the first phase wherein the ICAI ARF will study EPFO's existing accounting system with an intent to design the strategy for a smooth migration and transition to accrual system of accounting. “

While delivering the vote of thanks, CA. Manoj Fadnis, Vice-President, ICAI said “The role of the accounting profession is critical in lending credibility to financial markets by providing high quality information, facilitating market discipline and fostering confidence of various stakeholders. The CA profession is always there to support Government in its initiatives and would always be a partner in Nation building.”

The Chief Guest distributed the awards under different categories.