I. CPE programme exemption to senior citizens withdrawn :
(i) A member, for the year during which he gets his membership for the first time.
(ii) A member or class of members to whom the CPE Committee or its sub-committee may, in their absolute discretion, grant full/partial exemption either specific/general, on account of facts and circumstances of the case which in their opinion prevent such member from compliance with the requirements of completing CPE credit hours
8. CPE Scheme provides for detailed procedure for keeping records by the Institute about attendance of members who attend structured learning programmes of the Institute and other eligible entities. This enables ICAI to issue certificates for CPE Credit hours completed by the members in every calendar year.
9. As regards unstructured learning, the member who wants to take CPE Credit hours, the requirement is that he should submit a self-declaration Form to the Institute every year. This Form is to submitted to the decentrallsed / sub-decentralised offices of the Institute every year before 31st May. The format of this Form is given on the next page.
10. Considering the above requirements of unstructured learning for members who are senior citizens, it appears that the most convenient mode of learning will be as under:
i) Reading and individual home study i.e., reading articles in the CA. Journal, reading technical, professional, financial or business literature.
ii) Group or bilateral discussion on technical issues –
This will include attendance in group discussions at workshops, study groups, seminars, symposia, conferences, etc. organised by any voluntary body such as a society, association, chamber, group, etc. on technical issues relating to the accounting profession.
iii) Participation at internal training programme organised by firms of Chartered Accountants having seven or more partners.
11. With the above coverage of all senior citizens under the CPE Scheme, it has become mandatory for all members of the Institute (over 1.46 lacs members) to comply with the CPE Scheme. The Institute will have to create a machinery to scrutinise over 1.46 lacs self-declaration forms received from members every year and determine whether all members have complied with the requirements of CPE. In this exercise, the records maintained by the Institute for attendance of members in structured learning programmes will also be required to be considered. ICAI will have to issue comprehensive guidelines about the punishment to be awarded to defaulting members who are holding certificate of practice and those who are not holding certificate of practice.
II. ICAI News
(Note: Page Nos. given below are from c.A. Journal for July, 2008)
1. General amnesty for restoration of names of members and C.P.:
ICAI has introduced an amnesty scheme for restoration of names of members with retrospective effect on payment of certain fees and filing Form No.9. The member can also apply for certificate of practice in Form No.6 prospectively on payment of fees. This scheme will be in force up to 31-12-2008. Details of the scheme are on page 198.
2. Data of members on Board of directors of companies:
ICAI is compiling data about members who are presently working as executive/non-executive/in-dependent directors of public companies (whether listed or not) so that they can share their experience with other aspiring Board members. Such details have to be furnished in the format given on page 201.
3. Chapter at Muscat:
ICAI has decided to set up a chapter in Muscat. Details are given on page 201.
4. Campus placement programme:
As in the past, ICAI has organised campus placement programme for candidates who qualify in May, 2008, Final examination. The schedule is as under;
(i) 2-9-2008 to 5-9-2008 :
Ahmedabad, Baroda, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Nagpur, Nashik, Pune and Surat.
ii) 17-9-2008 to 25-9-2008 (excluding Sunday) :
Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi (Details on page 203).
5. Guidance Notes:
The following Guidance Notes issued by Research Committee have been withdrawn by ICAI.
i) Mode of Valuation of Fixed Assets (Revised in 1976)
ii) Guidance Note on Accounting for Changing Prices (Issued in 1982) ./ (Refer page 204)
6. Advertisement by practising CAs:
In July issue of BCA Journal (P. S09) details about this issue are given. ICAI Notification in this respect is published on pages 206 and 208.
7. Approval of Accounting Standard (AS-32) :
The Council of ICAI has approved Accounting Standard (AS) 32, ‘Financial Instruments; Disclosures’. The objective of this Accounting Standard is to require entities to provide disclosures in their financial statements to enable users to evaluate the following;
i) the significance of financial instruments for the entity’s financial position and performance; and
ii) the nature and extent of risks arising from financial instruments to which the entity is exposed during the period and at the end of the reporting period, and how the entity manages those risks.
In view of the above, the Accounting Standard will bring about greater transparency in the disclosures related to financial instruments, such as derivatives and the exposures to the risks related to such financial instruments, and how the entity manages its risks.
It may be noted that ICAI has already issued the related Accounting Standards, namely, Accounting Standard (AS) 30, ‘Financial Instruments; Recognition and Measurement’ and Accounting Standard (AS) 31, ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’. Issuance of this standard completes Accounting Stardards on the subject of Financial Instruments. Like AS-30 and AS-31, the Council has made AS-32 recommendatory from 1st April 2009 and mandatory from 1st April 2011.
