Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
-Helen Keller
Dear Professional Colleagues,
At the outset on behalf of the Institute, its employees, members, students and that of my own, I convey my heartfelt condolences to the people and government of Uttarakhand for the tragic loss of life and destructions of property caused by the devastating Cloudburst that hit the holy state last month. I pray to almighty for the peace of the departed souls. I am confident that under the leadership of the Central and State Government, rescue and relief efforts will be swift and that the people will be able to overcome this tragedy. I wish those injured a speedy recovery and hope that the affected state will return to normalcy before long.
I urge upon all the employees, students and members of the Institute to come forward and contribute generously for the relief of the victims of this devastating calamity of Uttarakhand.
Agriculture is extremely important for inclusive growth, since a large majority of the Indian population is dependent on farming. Improved agricultural productivity would bring in its wake increased family incomes for this vast majority. This, together with better infrastructure in the countryside - greater rural connectivity, rural electrification and investment in irrigation, would aid tremendously in tackling rural poverty, as well as add to the overall prosperity of the nation.
Amid the economic gloom, the early arrival of the monsoon is a ray of hope. As Indian economy is vitally linked with the monsoon, even a small variation in monsoon can have big impact on the economy of the country. This year the monsoon is expected to be 48 per cent more than normal which is almost double the last year data. This will have a positive impact on the agricultural production because about 55% of cropped area is dependent on monsoon rains and does not have irrigation support. During drought situations the prices of agro products increase and due to speculation and black hoarding by middlemen the prices further increase. In the reverse situation in case of bulk farm produce, the farmers do not get their true share as the prices of agro products came down due to its perishable nature. The problem of a massive parallel black economy, which has evaded a solution so far, needs to be tackled urgently and these funds brought into the much needed social sectors. We CMAs can play an important role in this area to save the farmers from the risk.
Opening of 9th Overseas Center at Washington
I am very pleased to share with all of you that your Institute has opened its 9th Overseas Center on 14th June 2013 at Washington, DC, USA in the presence of Shri Sachin Pilot, Hon’ble Minister of Corporate Affairs (I/C), Government of India. The event was also attended by Mr MJ Joseph, ICAS, Additional Secretary to the Government of India, Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee, DG & CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and Dr. TV Somanathan, IAS, Director of General Services, World Bank.
Hon’ble Chief Guest, Mr. Sachin Pilot congratulated the Institute for opening of its new center at Washington. He emphasized on the need of standardized accounting, reporting and disclosure to cater to the needs of the local and international stakeholders. He hoped that with the passing of new Companies Bill, the Indian Law will be at par with the law of all leading economies. Speaking on CSR the minister opined that the CSR report should be project driven and relevant. While describing the role of Management Accountants he urged upon the members of the Institute to enhance their competencies because they have to play an important role in managing the implementation and execution of CSR projects. The minister hoped that with the opening of this center at Washington, the members of the Institute of the region will be highly benefitted. He wished the Institute all the success in its future expansion plan.
To mark the occasion a Talk on Role of Management Accountants for Sustainable Business and CSR was organised. I was privileged to have the opportunity to address the participants and inform them about the changing orientation of the Institute to focus on dissemination of information to the stakeholders. During the talk the role of competition was appreciated and the members of the Institute were urged upon to brush up their skills to be able to add value to the services and products to keep ahead in the competition. Time is changing and to manage this change is the biggest challenge for the Professionals.
Speaking on the occasion various speakers praised the efforts of the Institute and talked about sustainability and Social Responsibility. The role of Management Accountants in helping the corporates by generating meaningful CSR reports was emphasized.
I convey my sincere gratitude to all the speakers and participants for making the event a grand success. I hope that the new center will take care of the interest of members of the region and support the development of the profession of Cost and Management Accounting. I assure the center full support and necessary assistance.
To apprise all the members of the activities / initiatives undertaken by the Departments/ Directorates of the Institute, I now present a brief summary of the activities.
Professional Development Directorate
The Institute in order to impart knowledge on IFRS to its Members and Students to position them within the global context of the international accounting principles, started the e-learning course on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2011 at a very nominal fee of Rs. 5000/- (plus service tax extra) per learner.
The course offered is for 100+ hours that covers 30 standards. The on-line access is valid for one year (365 days) from the date of registration of the course (or) 300 hours of e-Learning access whichever ends earlier.
The course is now introduced by the Institute under the aegis of ICWAI-MARF at the old rates as above. I urge members and students of the Institute to take advantage of e-learning course on IFRS and equip themselves with the knowledge in IFRS and enhance their perspicacity in this field. The course details may be seen at Institute website.
CEP Directorate
The Institute was proudly associated with the Institute of Directors (IOD) as a “Knowledge Partner” for the conference on “Board Governance-Key to Corporate Excellence” on 7th June 2013 at Chennai.
It is matter of healthy approach by the CEP Committee in association with Indirect Taxation Committee and Professional Development Committee to organize a series of programs on “Practical aspects of Indirect Taxation for CMAs” in the country. To begin with this initiative programs at Kolkata and Delhi were conducted in June 2013 and were well received by the members. Further, the program on “Practical aspects of Foreign Trade Policy for CMAs” and “Role of CMAs in Internal Audit” was organized at Kolkata.
I happy to inform you that the Institute in association with Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Integral Management (SAFIM) is organizing a National Seminar on “Governance by Inner Consciousness” on 13th July 2013 at New Delhi. I look forward for active participation by the professionals. It is an opportunity to explore from the practical experiences of the eminent personalities. For details, please visit the Institute’s website and register at earliest.
During the month our Regional Councils and Chapters actively conducted around 70 programs for our members.
Exams Directorate
The June 2013 examination of the Institute was held from 11th to 18th June 2013 for Intermediate and Final students at 114 examination centers in India and abroad. The Foundation examination was held on 23rd June 2013 in Multi Choice Question (MCQ) mode for the first time.
Technical Directorate
I am happy to inform the members that CASB has approved the following Exposure Draft of Cost Accounting Standard in its last meeting:
- Research & Development Costs
- Joint Costs
The same are being hosted on the website for public comments. I urge upon the members to give their valuable comments / suggestions on these drafts for improvement before the due date.
ICWAI MARF Programs
The ICWAI MARF has organized a program for Indian Navy on ‘Cost and Contract Management’ during 3rd to 7th June 2013 at CMA Bhawan, New Delhi. The program was attended by 21 Naval Officers.
Two self-run programs were organized on `Finance for Junior Finance and Accounts Officers and Non-Executives (F&A)’ and `Contracts and Their Management’ during 4th to 7th June 2013 at Shimla.
The department has also organized two self-run programs on `Recent Trends in Financial Management’ and `Management of Taxation’ during 25th to 28th June, 2013 at Ooty, Tamilnadu.
Technical Program for the Third batch on `Finance and Accounts’ for IRAS Officers of Indian Railway was organized during 10th to 23rd June 2013 at Delhi, London and Paris. The program was very appreciated by the IRAS officers.
Hyderabad Centre of Excellence
I am happy to inform you that the construction work at Hyderabad Centre of Excellence is progressing at a brisk pace and the interior work is going on.
The HCE organized program on Integrated Reporting under the Leadership of Prof. Asish K Bhattacharyya on 11th June 2013 at Hotel Aditya Sarovar. The center also organized one Half day seminar on “Internal Audit – New Skyline for CMAs” on 15th June 2013.
International Affairs
As already informed, the Institute has opened its 9th Overseas Center at Washington.
The delegation led by Vice-President of the Institute represented the Institute at SAFA Events and International CMA Conference held at Colombo during 17th-19th June 2013. CMA TCA Srinivasa Prasad, Council Member, was one of the panelists while Mr. K Narasimhamurthy presented a paper on Power Sector Tariff Fixation at the International CMA Conference.
Research Directorate
Partnership with ASSOCHAM
Our Institute was proudly associated with ASSOCHAM as knowledge partner and published a Research based knowledge study for the 8th SME Sammelan on "Enhancing Capacity for Sustainable Growth" at Bhopal on 5th June, 2013. Shri Kailash Vijayvargia, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry, GoMP, Shri P.K. Dash, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Commerce & Industry, Shri V. Kiran Gopal, IAS, Additional Managing Director, MPTRIFAC, Shri Anurag Srivastava, IAS, Commissioner, Horticulture & Food Processing, GoMP and other eminent dignitaries attended the programme.
I had the opportunity to attend another event of ASSOCHAM and share my views before the august house, where we were associated as the knowledge partner in the Seminar “Delhi – Kal, Aaj aur Kal” held on 28th June, 2013 at Delhi. Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi had given the inaugural address and released the knowledge study prepared by the Institute. The Knowledge Report was personally acknowledged by the Chief Minister Smt Sheila Dikshit. Shri Romesh Bhandari, Former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Rajkumar Dhoot, M.P. & President, ASSOCHAM, Shri Sunil Kanoria, Vice President, ASSOCHAM, Dr. Lalit Khaitan, Chairman, Northern Region Council, ASSOCHAM, Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Bandyopadhyay, Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University, Delhi, Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM were the other eminent speakers of the seminar. Eminent dignitaries from Govt. circle, Industries, Banks and Chambers of Commerce also attended the seminar.
Seminar on “Competition Law –Why now?”
This Seminar was jointly organized by our Institute and ASSOCHAM on 4 June 2013 at Kolkata. The key speaker of the seminar is Mr. Vinod Dhall, IAS and Retired Secretary, Government of India. He was the first and founding Head of the Competition Commission of India.
I shared the dais along with few eminent dignitaries viz. Dr. P Ishwara Bhat, Vice Chancellor, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Shri B Madhab Reddy, MD & CEO, The Calcutta Stock Exchange, Shri Sanjoy Jhunjhunwala, Chairman, ASSOCAHM, ERDC, Shri Debmalya Banerjee, Co-Chairman, ASSOCHAM, ERDC and Mr. Eamonn Doran, Partner at Linklaters, London & Head, The London Competition Group.
Partnership with Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Royal University of Bhutan
A Conference on the theme “Cost Consciousness, Sustainability, Governance and Development” was held in Gaeddu College of Business Studies (GCBS) on 10th & 11th June 2013 in Bhutan, which has been a unique initiative and instrumental in identifying the quintessential challenges of the market forces in the light of tumultuous, yet dynamic changes in the global landscape and an attempt to develop and prescribe solutions. The conference came to light to serve as an enriching experience to students, faculty, business community and bureaucrats and also an essential momentum in the accounting paradigm of the students and related areas.
Initiated by Prof. S.M. Gomes, CPL, Department of Accounts and Finance, Gaeddu College of Business Studies, the conference sought to pursue and understand the vision of cost competitiveness, cost management, efficient use of resources and structured approach to Cost and Management Accounting as the key divers of the profession. It also focused on the areas of sustainability, governance and development. The conference was attended by twenty five international delegates, thirty expatriates and fifty national academicians, representatives from Indian business community and Indian Embassy, Thimphu and about four hundred students.
I presided over the inaugural session of the Conference. The first Technical Session was on Cost Consciousness and was chaired by CMA TCA Srinivasa Prasad, Central Council Member. CMA Kaushik Banerjee, Secretary (Acting) gave the Keynote Address and CMA Manas Kumar Thakur, Central Council Member was the Guest Speaker. CMA Dr. Debaposanna Nandy, Director (Research & Journal) and CMA Chirajib Das, Joint Director (Studies) from our Institute were the resource persons for the session. The session brought to light the diverse areas in Cost and Management Accounting and global opportunities of CMAs.
The international delegates and students were quite contented with all the interaction they had. Our Institute has already initiated steps to establish a support centre at GCBS. The conference brought the minds of academicians, business people, bureaucrats and students together – towards a common cause.
Administration and PR Directorate
The Institute has been giving National Awards to the corporates in the field of Cost Management for the last 10 years. The Jury, for this purpose, headed by Justice Mr. VN Khare, Former Chief Justice of India has finalised the 10th National Awards for Excellence in Cost Management 2012 in a meeting held in New Delhi. Awards presentation function is likely to be held in the month of July 2013.
I wish all the members and their family a very pleasant and happy rainy season.
With warm regards,
(CMA Rakesh Singh)
President, Institute of Cost Accountants of India
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