Subscribe to the Bombay Chartered Accountant Journal Subscribe Now!

July 2014

Imagining India From The Eyes Of Young Professionals

By Mahesh Nayak Chartered Accountant
Reading Time 10 mins
fiogf49gjkf0d
On 16th May 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
emerged victorious under the leadership of its prime ministerial
candidate, Mr. Narendra Modi. The BJP won an astounding 282 seats. Not
since 1984, had a single party single-handedly crossed the 272 mark
required to form a central government in Delhi. Moreover, the BJP and
its alliance partners that form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
won a grand total of 336 of the 543 seats. This general election to the
Lok Sabha was rightly billed as the biggest election in the history of
the world’s largest democracy and was keenly followed by the entire
world.

On 26th May 2014, Mr. Modi was sworn in as the 15th Prime
Minister of India. The first steps of the new government have been
positive thus far and irrespective of one’s views on Mr. Modi, there is
an undeniable feeling of optimism about the country and excitement for
the good times to come or as goes the BJP’s election campaign song,
“acchhe din aane wale hain”. One of the key reasons for the victory was
the effective use of social media and the strong focus on development
and good governance in its campaign which allowed the party to reach the
youth in a way never done before. The “Abki baar Modi sarkar” as well
as similar messages flooding the social media space in the months
leading to the election were specifically designed to attract the youth.
Not surprising given that almost 65% of the Indian population is below
the age of 35 today, with India having the largest youth population.
This youth-centric campaign that made development a key agenda also
played a crucial role in India registering its highest ever voter
turnout of 66.4%. The mandate was clear: Focus on the youth to shape
India’s future.

Acknowledging the fact that the future of India
is inextricably linked to the future development of India’s youth, the
Bombay Chartered Accountants’ Society has, in the special issue to its
prestigious Bombay Chartered Accountant Journal, chosen the
theme“Imagining India from the eyes of young professionals”.

A
common question in job interviews is: “Where do you see yourself in the
next 10 years?” While most of us have chartered a path of where we want
our careers to be after 10 years, not many of us have thought, “Where do
I see my country in the next 10 years?” Admittedly, I too was one of
them and therefore, thank the Society for giving me this opportunity to
stop thinking from a micro level perspective and start thinking on a
macro level. Coming to the question at hand, I for one, like millions of
my fellow young professionals, am very optimistic.

I am sure
that a decade from now, India will be a super power, economically as
well as intellectually. It is no secret that this country is brimming
with talent. Millions of hard working and supremely talented people
proudly call this country their home. Yes, it has been hit hard by scams
in the recent past and many foreign investors have lost their
confidence in the economy. However, as the perennial optimist Harvey
Dent says in the movie, The Dark Knight, “The night is the darkest just
before dawn!” One can only hope that India has turned the page on one of
the darkest periods in its post-independence period and the dawn is
just around the corner.

It is only a matter of time before the
investor confidence is reposed in the Indian economy with the new
government hinting at steps to do the same by having a clearer tax
system and negating the element of uncertainty in the taxes that the
foreign investors are wary of today. Numerous foreigners awaited with
bated breath, the results of the recently concluded Indian elections as
though their future plans as well as their existing plans to invest in
the country depended upon it. Agreed, that it is not much to go on.
However, this has provided the new government a platform to give a
confidence boost to these potential investors and welcome them with open
arms.

A decade from now, we will see the economy being opened up
and moving towards becoming a free-market economy with minimum
regulation required. With trade flowing across the country, flowing
freely from all over the world, one would also see the strengthening of
economic ties with economies, such as China and Japan, allowing India to
position itself at the top for free trade with some of the largest
global players.

Such free trade would also result in an increase
in employment. The Prime Minister has already stated that inclusive
growth is the goal of the new government. Further, the Food Security
Bill and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,
if properly implemented, could drive the way towards eradication of
poverty. Creating employment would result in more disposable income in
the hands of more Indians, leading to an increase in demand for consumer
products. Further, the increase in disposable income in the hands of
the middle class Education reforms especially in rural India can spur
the improvement of the quality of education. It is only with quality
education that one hope to make India an economic power house. The first
67 years of the country’s independence have witnessed a high occurrence
of brain drain, especially in the information technology sector with
the Satya Nadellas and Rajeev Suris heading top corporations of the
world. However, the next decade consisting of free-market and a booming
economy would witness a reversal of the brain drain, where Indians
working abroad would return to India for better professional
opportunities and to serve their country. This phenomena has already
started with various foreign companies setting up businesses in India
and asking Indian employees already working abroad to return and work
from these Indian subsidiaries and branches in the initial stage.
Subsequently, one would witness many start ups beginning their journey
in the country and soon we would have our very own Silicon Valley. This
would be supported by the advancement of infrastructure and technology
in the country.

A recent tweet from the Prime Minister has
suggested that infrastructure does not only mean highways but also optic
fiber networks or ‘information highways’. A recent study shows that
India is currently 3rd in the world in terms of number of users of
internet! It is only a matter of time that it would have the highest
number of users in the world.

In terms of infrastructure, one
would also witness the improvement in the infrastructure in the country
in the coming decade with the Golden Quadrilateral (highway network of
roads) and the railways connecting every corner of the country.

In
respect of the chartered accountancy profession, I am of the firm
belief that we are in for exciting times ahead during the next decade.
With the three main laws, relating to the Companies Act, the Income Tax
Act and the Goods and Service Tax, undergoing an overhaul, it is back to
the drawing board for most of us in the profession.

Firstly, the
next decade would see chartered accountants moving away from the
traditional areas of practice such as audit and tax and towards
unexplored territory such as investment advisory, valuations, mergers
and acquisition advisory, transfer pricing, corporate law advisory,
securities law advisory, foreign exchange law advisory, management
consultancy etc. This in turn would lead to more opportunities being
available especially in unchartered areas. Further, with laws undergoing
major changes, clients would look up to the chartered accountants to
guide them for compliance with these new laws. One would therefore, see a
shift of focus from the attestation function to an advisory function.

Further, the Companies Act requires appointment of independent directors in case of certain companies. Who better than chartered accountants to be appointed as independent directors. It is common knowledge that a chartered accountant knows the business of his client, right from the efficiency in operations, accounting, finance and taxation aspects.

The free-market approach of the government leading to the increase in inbound investments would lead to an in- crease in the demand for chartered accountants as the foreign investors would not have knowledge of the laws applicable in India.

Secondly, the next decade would also see the rise in super-specialisation in the case of chartered accountants. The free-flowing trade and investment in India resulting in increase in the demand for chartered accountants would lead to higher occurrences of complex transactions and would require an expert in the field to understand such transactions. This would lead to chartered accountants specialising in certain fields thereby creating a niche. A ‘jack of all trades but king of none’ chartered accountant may not be able to survive in a highly competitive environment and therefore, eventually everyone will move towards super-specialisation. Super-specialisation would also lead to a higher bargaining power for the purposes of fees.

At the same time, many clients would prefer going to a one-stop shop i.e., a CA firm which would provide all the services that would be required by the client. This would lead to multiple chartered accountants or firms providing services in different niche areas merging or combining into one and working together and therefore providing various super-specialised services under one umbrella.

Thirdly, another major area where the chartered accountants will flourish in the next decade would be in assistance in policy making. This election has made one realise that there are many chartered accountants who have an interest in playing an active role in society. Chartered accountants would play an active role in the policy making of the government and would be instrumental in guiding the government on various economic as well as social aspects of governance.

The government is expected to give weightage to the suggestions and recommendations of the chartered accountant community as more often than not, a chartered accountant knows the ground reality about the implementation of the law , and therefore the best judge in formation of various economic policies.

Fourthly, another change in the profession in the next decade would be the realisation of the importance of communication and presentation skills. This would help the members of the profession to position themselves better in the market.

Finally, with the advancement of technology, borders between countries are slowly fading and the world is becoming one large global village. This has also resulted in the work moving towards a virtual world with diminishing requirement for a personal interaction. A chartered accountant of the future would have a far greater reach in terms of providing services due to this advancement of technology and would enable growth.

Only time will tell whether the India that I have imagined and the state of the profession that I have dreamt about will become a reality. However, one does feel extremely optimistic about these exciting and game-changing days ahead and a chartered accountant of the future would most certainly have a big role to play in society.

You May Also Like