Dear Members,
Thank you for the trust
placed on me by electing me as the President of the Society. I will try my best
to fulfil the expectations of the members. My detailed acceptance speech is
published elsewhere in the Journal and reflects the annual plan focussing on
the prioritisation of BCAS activities to align with the member expectations
from the Society.
The month of July, named
after the Roman General Julius Caesar, is a busy month for most chartered
accountants. Immediately after exchanging festive greetings of the CA Day, the
action begins. The month is flooded with a series of tax and compliance
deadlines. With a mandatory late filing fee for personal income tax returns
introduced for the first time, the intensity of work for tax practitioners had
increased manifold. Considering various representations, the Government did it
well to extend the due date by one month. However, do such ad hoc last minute
extensions help or do they only increase the agony of those who religiously
planned their activities and filed the returns in the stipulated time? It is
obvious that such extensions can result in cluttering of personal income tax
returns with the tax audit returns. In effect, such extensions become a ‘curse
in disguise’.
At BCAS, July was a month
full of activities. The Founding Day Lecture by CA. Nilesh Shah on “India –
2019 & Beyond” was full of empirical data, wit and in-depth analysis. Two
lecture meetings, a curtain raiser event on “Internal Audit – Rising to the
Expectations”, an interactive panel discussion on “permanent establishments”,
numerous study circle and study group meetings – all of them received good attendance
and participation. The month saw release of four publications on diversified
topics. The Society was also active in making various representations under the
direct tax law, GST law, FEMA, etc. A detailed report of various activities
conducted by the Society in July is available in the Society News Feature. The momentum of activities will continue in the month of August as well, the
details whereof are available elsewhere in the Journal.
July was also a month where
we decided for the first time to open up the soft copy of the BCAJ to general
readers without login. This was a part of a onetime outreach program to
increase both the subscriber base and the advertisement opportunities. The
Journal Committee and the Editorial Board undertake substantial efforts, month
after month, every month to provide the readers content which is crisp,
in-depth and extremely qualitative and relevant. It is now for each of us to
make sure that the fruits of these efforts reach a much wider spectrum of users.
July will always be
remembered as the month when the landmark indirect tax reform called GST was
introduced. This being the first anniversary, it was all the more special!
While the reform had its own teething troubles and difficulties, some of which
continue to exist even today, what is important is the positive impact that it
has created for the industry as a whole. Many surveys were conducted last month,
including one by the BCAS. Most of them gave a ‘thumbs up’ to this extremely
controversial reform.
July is also a month which
brings rains in abundance. While rains bring in a respite from the hot sultry
weather and envelop Mother Nature with a lush green cover, the story in
metropolitan cities like Mumbai is very different. The rains invariably bring
to forefront the crumbling infrastructure of the city – be it the potholes on
the roads, the inadequacy of the drainage system resulting in waterlogging, the
falling bridges, miserably inadequate public transport and totally chaotic
situation of traffic, the average Mumbaikar bears it all and emerges as a
winner. While from a citizen’s perspective that is the spirit to emulate, from
the Government’s perspective, a lot of introspection and corrective action may
be required.
July also started with
anxiety on the face of lakhs of students who aspire to be future chartered
accountants. After all, the results for all the levels of examinations were due
this month. Ultimately, when the results were presented, the feelings of
anxiety were replaced with moments of joy or disappointment. My congratulations
to all the students who cleared the examinations. Enjoy your moments of glory
and get set for the next phase of your journey either as an article student or
as a qualified professional. After all, an examination/result is not a
destination, but merely a milestone in an eternal quest for knowledge. The
Society invites all freshly qualified professionals to become its members.
Through its time tested volunteering model, a strong ethical fabric and the
unwavering faith of its existing membership, the Society will leave no stone
unturned in grooming these young professionals into leaders of tomorrow.
As we move closer towards
the Independence Day, it is time perhaps to look at the attribute of
‘independence’ afresh, especially in the context of some of the recent
happenings in our profession. Each profession offers a distinct value
proposition to its stakeholders. Unlike many other professions, in my view, the
unique value proposition of the profession of chartered accountancy is the
assurance offered by the profession about the truth and fairness of the
financial statements. Any compromise on independence, either in form or in
mind, can severely compromise the quality of this assurance and therefore
independence is identified as an inextricable attribute of the audit
profession. It is for each of us to introspect and examine whether we have been
able to not only maintain the highest standards of independence but also
portray the same to all the stakeholders. We may like to defend the few
incidents as aberrations but we cannot make the mistake of disregarding them.
Think we must brainstorm, we must and then execute a proper action plan to
transform the profession. I would be keen to know your inputs on the steps that
we as individuals and the Society as a collective vehicle could take to restore
the pride towards the profession.
The profession also cannot
be oblivious to the rapid strides in technology and the impact that it is
likely to have on the profession. Many professions and products have vanished
since they were unable to keep pace with the changing times and technologies.
Adaptation is the key to survival and I am sure our profession will adapt to
the changes in the landscape. The Society will line up a series of events which
address this need of the profession.
I would be glad to receive
any feedback or suggestions on the functioning of the Society, events and
publications that you would like to witness, or any other matter concerning the profession.
Do write to me at president@bcasonline.org.
Warm
Regards
CA.
Sunil Gabhawalla
President
