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ICAI lines up exposure drafts

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, May 6

THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has lined up a series of exposure drafts, spanning a wide range of issues. Exposure drafts are expected on financial reporting of investment in joint ventures, provision for contingent liabilities, i mpairment of assets and interim financial reporting.

Addressing newspersons, Mr N.D. Gupta, President of ICAI, said these exposure drafts would help clarify doubts about certain important and practical aspects.

ICAI, which recently issued a note on investment in associates, is also set to release an accounting standard for income-tax provisions. This standard was finalised in the last council meeting of ICAI and a few corrections would now be effected.

He observed that a few more accounting standards would be worked out in due course, keeping in view the existing international standards, with the exception of those on banking and inflationary accounting, which would not be considered for adoption in In dia.

ICAI recently signed an MoU with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. Having taken stock of the current state of the accounting profession, ICAI and the overseas institute have decided to work together in areas of common interest su ch as exchange of technical documents and sharing of information.

The ICAI chief, in this context, underlined the institute's initiatives on tying up with other overseas bodies. It was, for instance, looking at co-operation with institutes of South Africa, Canada, Australia and a few other countries, with which the UK body enjoyed reciprocal arrangements.

Further, similar arrangements were under discussion with organisations in the US, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. ICAI has also approached the European Commission for recognition.

According to Mr Abhijit Bandopadhyay, member of ICAI's central council, such links would enable Indian professionals to access wider markets. Incidentally, a number of fresh ICAI qualifiers were recently picked up for employment by companies in Dubai and Singapore.

It may be mentioned here that ICAI has sought the Union Government's help in facilitating unrestricted movement of accounting professionals.

``The Union Government, in the backdrop of WTO, should insist that chartered accountants be allowed to move freely among the countries that sign the trade agreement,'' Mr Gupta said.

On another front, ICAI is working on a unique and simple system of accounting for the panchayat raj establishments.

ICAI, meanwhile, is looking at converting its monograph on `accounting for dotcoms' into a proper guidance note. Its assessment on `valuation of companies' (as opposed to `valuation of assets') is also being readied.

On the issue of the merger of ICAI, ICWAI and ICSI, Mr Gupta observed that the proposal on merger, though mooted quite some time ago, was yet to be ratified by ICAI's apex council.