Asian countries need to work as a team to tackle the challenges of tomorrow, says Shri Piyush Goyal

Shri P.P. Chaudhary says that role of cost accountants has widened into other critical areas

Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal said that India's growing clout in the international economies and geopolitics is clearly visible from the fact that India hosted Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank summit this week in Mumbai and now we are hosting SAFA International Conference. He said this in his address at the South Asian federation of Accountants (SAFA) International Conference 2018, organised by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), here today. He said that in the brave new world, Asian countries need to work as a team to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. The world is becoming smaller in terms of cost accounting. Cost accounting is totally global in nature.

Underlining the importance of Cost Accounting, Shri Goyal said it can significantly improve foundations of companies and also governance as competition requires cost cutting without compromising on quality. It requires planning and delivering the goods with consistency. Any organisation that does not have a cost analysis can't succeed in today's challenging world. This is made even more challenging by the cost scenarios changing daily. Consistency is the key to growth. And consistency can only be achieved by factoring in cost. Besides, costing ensures fair competition, Shri Goyal added.

While mentioning the challenges of implementing GST in a nation size and scale of India, Shri Goyal said that the Government could have not done all of this without understanding costing. Costing is an important part of all reforms.

Earlier in the morning, Union Minister of State for Law & Justice and Corporate Affairs Shri P.P. Chaudhary inaugurated the conference and in his inaugural address called for synchronising accounting standards and practices are in public interest as it makes us stronger and propels us towards broad development. He said that since all our SAFA countries are developing economies and we must try to increase our GDP and provide relief to the millions of poor. This is only possible when businesses have competent and robust accountants as businesses can flourish fast only when the foundation is strong. The scope of accountants has not remained limited to just that of an accountant, auditor or a taxation expert rather it has widened into other critical areas such as corporate finance, investment banking, fund management, credit analysis, capital markets, arbitration, risk management, valuation of businesses and insolvency, he said.

The theme of the Conference ‘Professionals of the Future: Thoughts on 2018 & Beyond’ emphasized the areas of professional challenges and the opportunities that come along as avenues for future growth. Digitalisation has challenged professional service sector to rethink internal structures and thereby better deliver services and maximize profits in an increasingly digitalized age. But at the same time, it also will require considering how automation will impact jobs. To complicate this even further, overall the workforce composition is changing. Transforming into a truly digital business is much more than just implementing new technology to meet the demands of a digital age. It’s more than keeping up with the deluge of transformation happening all around us. Digital transformation is about understanding how to harness these changes and incorporate them into your apt business strategy. The Conference provided a wonderful forum for refreshing knowledge base and offered plenty of networking opportunities, providing the delegates with the opportunity to meet and interact with the domain experts, corporate, professional and academicians across the world.

About ICAI

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body set up under an Act of Parliament in the year 1959. The Institute regulates the profession of Cost and Management Accountancy, enrolls students for its courses, provides coaching facilities to the students, organises professional development programmes for the members, and undertakes research programmes in the field of Cost and Management Accountancy.

About SAFA

South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) was formed in the year 1984 to serve the accountancy profession in the South Asian Region and uphold its eminence in the world of accountancy. SAFA is an Apex Body of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) and an Acknowledged Accounting Grouping of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). SAFA forum of professional accountancy bodies, committed towards maintaining and developing the accountancy profession in SAARC Region and ensuring its continued eminence in the world of accountancy in the public interest.

Cost accounting: foundational governance tool enabling competitive planning, reform implementation and strengthened corporate resilience. Cost accounting is presented as a foundational managerial and governance tool essential for corporate resilience, fair competition, and policy implementation. It underpins competitive planning, consistent delivery, and cost analysis across organisations, and is identified as integral to implementing broad tax and reform measures such as GST. The address stresses that robust costing systems strengthen business foundations and governance without compromising quality.