Arjun (A) — Oh
Lord, why have you created this kaliyug?
Shrikrishna
(S) — I didn’t create it. It was the idea of the Creator – Brahmadev! I
have been entrusted only with the job of maintenance.
A — Don’t just pass the blame on him. I know, you only must be giving
ideas to him. I have seen you in Mahabharata, doing some mischief and then
watching the fun!
.
S — (smiles) – Arjun, what is your grievance? I have always supported
you in all the difficulties and brought you out of your problems.
A — Tell me, why in kaliyug people are always quarrelling with each
other?
Why can’t they stay together with love and affection? They have so many
comforts due to technology.
S — (laughs). Arey Arjun. You are saying so? What did you do in
Mahabharata? Didn’t you fight with kauravas?
A — But we were demanding only 5 small villages from them. Nothing more.
But they wanted to grab everything. They cheated us.
S — Anyway, forget that. Why are you so tensed up today? The kaliyug was
there all these years. What makes
you blame it today?
A — These disputes between other parties are causing great risk to our
profession. Two brothers, two partners, two directors, rather any two persons
coming together finally end-up in a dispute and just to settle their score on
one another they blame their CA. They expect that the CA would exert influence
on the other party. In this process CA alone suffers. He is made a scape goat.
S — Did you have any dispute with any person? See, both of us are
together for thousands of years right since Mahabharata but we have never
quarreled.
A —You are a God and I am only your devotee. By relation we are cousins
but it is your goodness that you treat me like a friend. But nowadays, I see
that even the relationship between the spouses is not permanent. I told you an
incident that where husband and wife both were CAs, the wife did a small audit
for two years; the husband did the audit for next two years.
S — Then what is wrong about it?
A —There was a divorce petition between them and the wife filed a
complaint that the husband accepted audit work without communicating with her!
S — My wife Satyabhama does get angry with me every now and then. Now I
should be more careful in kaliyug lest she leaves me.
A —(Laughs) Last month there was a similar incident. The daughter of
CA’s client came to him and asked for attested copies of the IT Returns of her
husband and mother-in-law. She said she wanted it for VISA application.
S — Then?
A — My friend verified it in the computer and gave the attested copies
to her.
S — Good.
A — What “good”? The daughter’s husband filed a complaint as to why the
CA delivered the copies of his returns to his wife without his authorisation.
S — Oh. That means there must be some dispute between them.
A — Yes. In fact she had filed a case of domestic violence against him.
She used the ITRs in that law suit.
S — That is why I always caution you not to do anything in good faith.
Never take any relationships for granted. I agree that this incident is an
extreme one!
A — But even in this case, the fact remains that there was no error or
negligence in the certification as such. What was certified was true. I don’t
understand as to how such work should have been tackled.
S — Your institute has issued detailed guidelines for the work of
issuing certificates. One should get a written request in which the purpose for
the certificate should be stated. Further, the purpose should be stated on the
certificate as well. So that, it cannot be used for any other purpose.
A — I am aware of that but I just wanted to point out the vulnerability
of our profession and how careful one should be in even small piece of work.
!!OM Shanti!!
Conclusion:
The above dialogue
emphasises the fact that anything done in a good faith in our profession may
backfire at a time when it is least expected. A CA needs to be very careful and
alert while doing even the smallest work. It underlines the importance of
professional skepticism.
