Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a statutory body under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the Parliament for promotion, development and regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India.[5]
"ICAI" redirects here. For other uses, see ICAI (disambiguation).Abbreviation
ICAI
1 July 1949
Established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the Parliament of India
ICAI Bhawan, Post Box No. 7100, Indraprastha Marg, New Delhi 110002, India
India
4,00,000+(2024)[1]
English, Hindi
Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal[2]
Charanjot Singh Nanda[3]
Jai Kumar Batra[4]
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 of financial statements in India.
Members of the institute are known as ICAI Chartered Accountants or ICAI Accountants (either Fellow or Associate). However, the word chartered does not refer to or flow from any Royal Charter. ICAI Chartered Accountants are subject to a published Code of Ethics 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 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 (IFAC), South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), and Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA). ICAI was formerly the provisional jurisdiction for XBRL International 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.[6] ICAI is the second largest professional accounting body in the world in terms of number of membership and number of students after the AICPA.[7] It prescribes the qualifications for a Chartered Accountant, conducts the requisite examinations and grants Certificate of Practice.
Role of Chartered Accountants[edit]
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.
Code of ethics[edit]
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.[25]
Qualification[edit]
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 24 months of practical training or by availing themselves of exemptions under mutual recognition agreement (MRAs).
ICAI has MRAs and MOUs with the CPA Canada, ICAEW, CPA Australia, CPA Ireland.[32]
Examination[edit]
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 Management 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.[24]
ICAI has entered into an agreement with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), to help CA students acquire a Bachelor's degree 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.[33][34]
ICAI offers study materials and describes the syllabus in great detail via a prospectus.[35] 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 portals.