The three-day 'International Conference on Accountancy Profession: Catalyst to Sustained Economic Growth' concluded here today with the signing of a Joint Declaration between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Association of International Accountants, UK (AIA). It was signed by Shri Amarjit Chopra, President, ICAI and Shri M. S. Khare on behalf of AIA. The joint declaration is prepared to benefit both, the Chartered Accountants and the students who pursue CA course. An Honorary membership of the AIA was also conferred upon the President of the ICAI on the occasion.

A number of Sessions were organized by the ICAI during the three-day 'International Conference on Accountancy Profession: Catalyst to Sustained Economic Growth', which began on January 4. The highlight of the Session on Economic Resilience through Good Governance was the views expressed by Shri Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, who stressed the importance of good governance in any structure, be it government or corporate sector. He emphasized that good governance is dependent upon solid foundation of systems, procedures and processes that need to be in place and should not in any way be tinkered with. Stating that India could withstand financial shocks, he added that it is time for introspection and understanding whether the economic growth will take place under stress or on sustainable basis. 

In the Session on the 21st Century Accountant, Shri Prabhakar Kalavacherla, Board Member, International accounting Standard Board (IASB), talked about steps that have been taken for harmonization by the IASB which has gained momentum in the last 6 years. He said that 120 countries are basing their standards on IFRS. He further stated that USA and IASB have jointly signed MOU to work on several accounting standards and this MOU will end in 2011. Shri Kalavacherla said that capital market have become global, economies are interconnected, accountants and auditors need high quality standards therefore conferences like the one organized by ICAI are essential. 

In the Session on Emerging Avenues for Profession, Shri Arun Maira, Member, Planning Commission, stated that Accounting profession plays a vital role in good governance of society. He said that governance keeps together everybody in harmony and many diverse forces together and for achieving good governance, guidance is a key factor. 

In the Session on 'Convergence with IFRS: Issues & Challenges', held on the concluding day today, Shri Y. H. Malegam, Chairman, National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards, brought out various issues and challenges in convergence. He brought out the rationale for convergence rather than adoption in the country. He mentioned that there are a few carve outs which are taken up with IASB. Subject to these few carve outs, the standards are almost fully convergent, Shri Malegam said. 

In the Session 'Bridging expectation gap - Post Satyam fiasco' Shri Amarjit Chopra, President, ICAI, said that Satyam is not a failure on the part of auditors but is a result of total failure of corporate governance. He focused on the role of Independent Directors, Chairman of audit committee, existing procedures of external confirmations, auditing and assurance norms. He emphasized that all these should be thoroughly reviewed.  Good governance: joint ICAI-AIA declaration promotes accounting harmonization and strengthened audit and corporate governance practices. A cooperative declaration between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Association of International Accountants, UK promotes professional collaboration to benefit chartered accountants and students. Conference discussions stressed good governance based on systems and procedures, and advanced IFRS convergence with limited carve outs. Presenters urged reviewing the roles of independent directors, audit committee leadership, external confirmation procedures, and auditing and assurance norms to bolster corporate governance and audit quality.