Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
As part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is set to kick off several new technical initiatives to give a fillip to its image and brand building exercise, its Central Council Member G. Ramaswamy said here on Saturday.Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of the seminar conducted by the ICAI, he pointed out the thrust areas that would receive focus this year and also the expansion plans for Coimbatore.“Our aim is to forge multidisciplinary partnerships with MBAs, lawyers and other professionals, to become total business solution providers, all under a single roof. This was not permitted so far. But, when the Limited Liability Partnership Bill gets passed, such partnerships will be made,” Mr. Ramaswamy said. Highlighting the other thrust area of student participation, he said the response to the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) in Coimbatore was very good. “Out of the 400 students who appeared, 76 cleared. Plus Two students who clear the CPT can directly join the Chartered Accountancy (CA) course. We are planning for examinations to be conducted on-line,” he said.
In order to popularise the CA course, the Coimbatore centre of ICAI would undergo major changes at a cost of Rs. 5 crore for coaching purposes, he added. “Land has been identified for the expansion of the centre and construction will begin soon. Classrooms, a state-of-the-art conference hall and an IT laboratory will come up in the new premises. The facilities will also be extended to members to train them in IT,” Mr. Ramaswamy said.
Information technology laboratories had been set up in various places at a cost of Rs. 30 lakh to train senior members of ICAI. To encourage research in the field, the institute would sponsor research projects of chartered accountants. It also had plans to set up at least 10 centre of excellence in the coming five years. The first centre in Jaipur was already operational; while the second in Hyderabad would be ready soon.
