By Deepak R. Shah, President
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Dear Members,
By the time this issue reaches your hands, most of you would be feeling relaxed after the hectic days in the end of September. This year Ganesh Chaturthi festival being in the second fortnight of the month, everybody would have faced difficulties and pressure situations. But, surely Lord Vignaharta was there to take care of all the stress. Every year when the deadline approaches, there is a clamour for extension of the date. I would earnestly request each one of you to ask a question to oneself – Do we really need the extension? I am sure the answer would be ‘no extension’, as the scenario would be the same for next month also. The only solution is to educate clients, chalk out systematic schedules, and accept assignments that are within our capacity.
Friends, it’s time to rejoice now and put aside all the stressful & negative experience, and celebrate the positive spiritual vibrations emanating from the coming holy festivals of Navratri & Dussera.
On the Society front, I am happy to share with you that the most eagerly awaited event – our 46th RRC – to be held this year at Bangalore, has received an overwhelming response, and enrolment was closed within a week of it’s announcement. I congratulate our Seminar Committee for the same, and I am sure members enrolled will have a great time. The International Taxation Committee and Taxation Committee of BCAS has forwarded the representation on draft report of the Expert Committee on GAAR, and we do hope that the issues covered in the representation will be considered by the Committee.
I have received various emails and feedback from members suggesting organisation of programmes and events at bigger venues, as they could not attend the programme as enrolment was closed. At the outset, I on behalf of BCAS am thankful to all for attending the programmes in large numbers. We have taken note of the inconvenience faced in the past few months, but my only request to all would be to enrol well in advance and not to wait till the last date. Your early action will help us to take remedial action to the extent possible. At this juncture, I would also urge members to enrol for WEB TV facility offered by BCAS, as then, one can watch the important seminars or lecture meetings posted on the WEB TV. I with all earnestness request all our esteemed readers and members to continue their feedback.
I would like to take this opportunity in this month’s communiqué to delve upon an issue that is on our minds, but has taken a back seat and that is of ‘Being Human’. In a society, where the barometer of happiness is judged through one’s wealth and riches, being ‘human’ is a rare quality.
This issue is aimed at getting us working professionals to take a second out from our busy lives to contribute to the society at large, for what is a professional who has no heart and only a mind? There are endless questions that bother us, but none more pertinent than those that follow:
Is it right to charge a person who lives below the poverty line for a fatal illnesses like cancer ? Is it right to charge a client more than what he has been serviced for ? In charging fees, should one charge fees commensurate with service or according to the ‘ability to pay’ principle ? The so called ‘realists’ would say ‘yes’ and in their truculent manner, state that it is essential to do so to survive.
The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 gives an overview of what is ethical and what isn’t, but there is only one guide book which shows us what we should do and what we shouldn’t and that is our conscience. And though we, who are deemed to be the smartest minds in the professional world can manipulate documents and numbers, can we sleep in peace when we know the ‘best practices’ that are being followed aren’t what they should be?
The world has become a place where there is growing interdependence amongst nations, where the previously existing fissiparous tendencies have given way to a cordial environment, where individuals now work without any cultural barriers. In such a global workspace, it is important that we as Indians and especially chartered accountants should set the benchmark. And for me, that would be being human along with being witty. For that would definitely take us places. Here is a real life example:
One of the more heart-warming stories involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It’s a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business — a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the expense of humanity.
Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital’s soup was inedible. If only she could get a bowl of her favourite clam chowder from Panera Bread! Trouble was, Panera only sells clam chowder on Friday. So Brandon called the nearby Panera and talked to store manager Suzanne Fortier. Not only did Sue make clam chowder specially for Brandon’s grandmother, she included a box of cookies as a gift from the staff.
It was a small act of kindness that would not normally make headlines. Except that Brandon told the story on his Facebook page, and Brandon’s mother, Gail Cook, retold the story on Panera’s fan page. The rest, as they say, is social-media history. Gail’s post generated 500,000 (and counting) “likes” and more than 22,000 comments on Panera’s Facebook page. Panera, meanwhile, got something that no amount of traditional advertising can buy — a genuine sense of affiliation and appreciation from customers around the world.
Marketing types have latched on to this story as an example of the power of social media and “virtual wordof- mouth” to boost a company’s reputation. But I see the reaction to Sue Fortier’s gesture as an example of something else — the hunger among customers, employees, and all of us to engage with companies on more than just dollars-and-cents terms. In a world that is being reshaped by the relentless advance of technology, what stands out are acts of compassion and connection that remind us what it means to be human.
All of us cannot be philanthropists and open a ‘Being Human’ NGO, for we have our own lives to look into, but we definitely can do something, which would give us a sense of satisfaction which material things will not, and I am sure our auditor i.e. God would want to see a healthy balance sheet.
At BCAS, few of our members actively involve themselves, in activities that are being carried out by BCAS Foundation. One such activity is “Chalo English Sikhaye” , where the volunteers teach English to students of Standard 5th to 8th, studying in vernacular schools. There are a lot of other activities which are carried on by BCAS Foundation with other similar organisations. Any member who is interested, may volunteer and join hands with other fellow colleagues for the good cause.
I wish all the luck to Team India, and let’s hope that they lift the World Twenty-20 Cup.
With Warm Regards,
Yours truly,
Deepak R. Shah
