It has been my privilege over the past 3 years to communicate
with you as the editor of this prestigious journal. I have enjoyed interacting
and sharing my thoughts with so many of you on various issues impacting us as
professionals. It is now time for me to hand over the reins to my Joint Editor
of the past two years, Sanjeev Pandit.
As has been the practice for the past couple of years, this
year too, the July issue of the journal contains certain special pages. The idea
behind the special issue was that on the anniversary of the Society’s founding
every year, we should take stock of the direction that the profession is taking
and of the environment in which it is functioning, and look at what we should be
doing as professionals in the future.
In the special pages in this issue, we have the views of
Justice Ajit P. Shah, retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, on various
aspects of the law and the judicial and legal framework in India, which affect
our clients, and us both as professionals as well as citizens of this country.
Based on discussions with him, one is left with the distinct impression that
there is so much to be done to improve the judicial and legal framework, to
ensure that justice is done to all. One hopes that the Government gives as much
importance to the improvement of the judicial and legal framework, as it gives
to the improvement of infrastructure in our country. Proper laws and proper
interpretation and enforcement of such laws is one of the crucial factors
facilitating growth of business and industry, as much as a proper infrastructure
is a factor, besides being essential to ensure that all citizens enjoy their
constitutional rights.
In the special pages, we also carry an article by Shri T. N.
Manoharan, past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India,
who has recently been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government in recognition of
the sterling role played by him in the rescue of Satyam as a
Government-appointed director. He shares with us his views on the various
developments which can have a significant impact on us as professionals, whether
in practice or in employment.
An interesting point which he makes is the need for us to
consolidate into larger firms by taking advantage of the provisions for limited
liability partnerships (which will hopefully soon become a reality for us
chartered accountants) and multidisciplinary firms. This is something which each
one of us needs to seriously look at, as it is becoming almost impossible for
one person to understand and specialise in different areas of practice, given
the rapid developments in different spheres. I am sure that this will be brought
home to all of us in the next couple of years when we will simultaneously see
the new Direct Taxes Code replacing the Income Tax Act, the Goods and Services
Tax replacing VAT, excise duty, and service tax, International Financial
Reporting Standards replacing the current accounting standards and the new
Companies Act replacing the current Companies Act. There would be serious
consequences of any errors on our part in not understanding these new
provisions, and therefore it makes sense for us to focus on a few areas rather
than try and do whatever work comes our way.
If one wants to capitalise on the fact that our clients
require a variety of services, larger firms with like-minded professionals
focussing on different areas of practice make sense, as one is able to provide
variety as well as quality. Limited liability partnerships restrict our
liability to our own deeds, removing one of the significant barriers to
formation of partnership firms. Of course, a partnership (whether an LLP or
otherwise) does involve some amount of give and take from each partner. One has
to understand that the advantages of a partnership far outweigh the sacrifices
that one is required to make in a partnership, provided that one has like-minded
partners.
Quality is one aspect which many of us have chosen to ignore,
but can continue to do so only at increasing risk. Even a professional indemnity
policy cannot provide us total protection from risk, as one has to ensure that
one has taken the necessary precautions and not acted in a negligent manner.
Focus on quality rather than quantity is one of the best methods in which one
can contain risk in one’s practice. In fact, doing this may make one realise
that it is far more rewarding to focus on lesser work carried out with greater
quality services, rather than try and do much more work at the cost of quality.
Clients ultimately realise the quality of work that is being provided to them,
and in the long run, are willing to pay better for services of a higher quality.
Of course, there will always be clients who will try to belittle the services
provided, to avoid paying higher fees. We must realise that we are better off
without such clients, and focus on retaining only those clients who appreciate
the services provided to them. This is something that may call for sacrifices in
the short term, in the form of losing some clients or spending more time on
updating one’s knowledge and in providing the same services, but will yield
significant rewards in the long term.
I am sure that the Society, and the journal in particular,
will continue to facilitate your quest for increasing your knowledge and
improving the quality of your services as it has done in the past. Personally
for me, the past 3 years have been highly satisfying due to the feedback
received from so many of you appreciating the improvements made to the journal.
I would like to thank each one of you for your feedback and support over the
past 3 years, and I am sure that my successor will also continue to enjoy that
support.
