Society News

DIRECT TAXES HOME REFRESHER COURSE

The Taxation
Committee organised the first-ever Direct Taxes Home Refresher Course (DTHRC)
2020 from 20^th April to 1^st May, 2020. It comprised seven
dynamic sessions on topics which have significant relevance and application in
the current times. The course was crafted under the pressing times of the
Covid-19 pandemic to enable members who are either working from home, or
working at home, to stay connected with the current scenario in direct taxes.

Members and
participants were given a kaleidoscopic view of the new taxation regime
effective from F.Y. 2021 onwards, the recent amendments to the provisions of
TDS and TCS, the fundamentals and applications of the Vivad se Vishwas
Scheme and the recent amendments to taxation of charitable trusts.

Incidentally,
the sessions on tax implications for banks and NBFCs, penalty provisions and
domestic GAAR went on beyond the time fixed as the speakers shared their vast
knowledge on these subjects.

The DTHRC
was organised and conducted on the Zoom app where the participants not only saw
the speaker and the presentation, but they could also post queries to the host
through the chat box. The meetings were also accessible through the BCAS
page on YouTube live. On an average, every meeting saw an attendance of 500
to 700 persons.

The queries
were filtered by the hosts and were dealt with by the respective speakers at
the end of the session.

The following table
summarises the DTHRC:

With such
high participation, the sessions were bound to be interactive and the speakers
were equally eager to share their insights on their respective subjects.

VIRTUAL ZOOM SESSION ON ‘LOCKED IN LOCKDOWN’

The HRD
Committee organised a virtual Zoom session styled ‘Locked in Lockdown’ from
4.30 pm onwards on 11^th April.

Thanks again
to the lockdown due to Covid-19, the Committee took this commendable initiative
to help members to positively cope up with the forced confinement.
Approximately 90 participants took part in the session.

It was
conducted by Dr. Nidhi Thanawala who is a therapist, life coach,
professor recruiter, reality TV expert, all rolled into one. She planned the
session in such a way as to move the focus on creating a positive mindset and
making the best of the lockdown period. She suggested ways to deal with the
social media influence and reduce screen time. She provided tips to schedule
routines, engage in hobbies like drawing and painting and spend time in
learning new things. She also highlighted how we should adjust our home
environment for the smooth functioning of work from home, distribution of
household chores and spending quality time with the family during the lockdown
period.

As expected,
the session was interactive and the participants asked a lot of questions
throughout the session. Dr. Thanawalla was equally energetic in
providing her insights and answered all the questions posed by the
participants.

The session
concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Sneh Bhuta (Convener of the
HRD Committee).

PRACTISING CA’s SURVIVAL GUIDE

In the
backdrop of Covid-19 the leaders of CA firms have faced many new issues /
dilemmas about survival and growth that needed discussion and understanding. To
address these problems, BCAS arranged a unique programme ‘The CA Survival
Guide’ to present options and strategies to address some of them.

It was a
one-of-its-kind three-session online paid webinar conducted through the Zoom
platform. The programme received excellent response with enrolments being
received till the last minute and with a final count of 91.

The first
session was conducted by Nandita Parikh on ‘People Matters because
People Matter’ on 28^th April over a Zoom call. The session was
divided into three parts, namely, ‘Our Partners’, ‘Our People’ and ‘Our Clients’,
followed by a round of questions and answers.

Nandita
spoke about partners’ responsibilities in a CA firm and their post-Covid roles
and alignment, provided guidance on ‘must do’ things for partners and
emphasised on the new era of consolidation and collaboration. In the second
part of her presentation, she dwelt on ‘our people’, i.e. the employees,
retainers and associates. She addressed pertinent questions such as salary
deductions, increments and promotions in these difficult times and pointed to
the importance of re-planning and preparations for reopening, post the
lockdown, with special focus on re-skilling, relocation and new ideas for the
employees.

In the third
part of her presentation, Nandita Parikh addressed questions on how to
service clients in terms of relocation, revision of fees, scope of work, usage
of digital platforms and new offerings. This was followed by an interesting
Q&A session. And it all concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Mukesh
Trivedi (Convener, HRD Committee).

The second
session was by Ameet Patel on ‘No Technology, No Future’ on 30^th
April over a Zoom call. He began by asking a bold question – Are we aware of
the disruption sweeping the world in general and our profession in particular?
He noted that most CA firms were unable to function during the lockdown on
account of unpreparedness, lack of infrastructure and lack of data. The key
lesson from this was to come out of our comfort zones and focus on upgrading
the use of technology.

Ameet
discussed various technology issues faced by CAs and suggested solutions to the
same in the shape of available software and the technologies at one’s disposal.
He placed particular emphasis on the usage of technology in day-to-day
functioning to improve offerings and to be future-ready. The session concluded
with a Q&A round and a vote of thanks by Namrata Dedhia.

The third
and the final session of ‘The CA Survival Guide’ series was conducted by Vaibhav
Manek on ‘Practice Growth Strategy’ on 2^nd May, again over a
Zoom call.

He began by
focusing on the relevance of growth in the times of Covid-19 and how the
expectations of clients would change. Therefore, it was time to think
differently about growth, strategy and reinventing ourselves. What was the
recipe for sustainable growth and making strategic choices? For this it was
necessary to focus on the pros and cons of providing specialised services,
doing self-diagnosis of the firm, making a 360-degree strategy and elevating
the clients’ experiences.

In the third
part of the presentation, Vaibhav emphasised a ‘Call for Action’ and
described how execution was the most important. He spoke about developing and
implementing strategic visions for the firm. The participants asked several
questions and the speaker answered them with elan. The session ended with a
vote of thanks proposed by Sneh Bhuta.

The programme ‘The CA Survival Guide’ specifically focused on the small
and medium-sized CA firms who would be required to respond effectively to the
mammoth disruption caused by the pandemic through focussed thinking,
well-defined and dynamic strategy and timely action.

VIRTUAL CLASS SERIES ON TECHNOLOGY

Amidst the
lockdown due to Covid-19, the HRD Committee took the first initiative to keep
its members and their families engaged sitting in their homes and using their
phones, iPads or PC’s smartly. Their response was very encouraging and it was
decided to keep the momentum going with a series of similar virtual classes.

All the
sessions were conducted on different dates by the senior and experienced techie
Yazdi Tantra.

Yazdi
listed the innumerable benefits of Google. He gave live training on optimum use
of Google through Voice Search and performing simple arithmetic calculations,
setting reminders and alarms, exploring time / weather in any city, playing a
song or reading the current news, translating in various languages and so on.

The session
can be viewed on the BCAS YouTube Channel at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ActAE4vm6bk

The faculty
started by pointing out that Gmail is one of the world’s largest Email
programmes, with up to 26% market share. There were many features hidden under
the hood which made Gmail a very fast, efficient and reliable tool. Yazdi
shared tips, tricks and shortcuts which could make Gmail a versatile and
productive business tool.

The session can be viewed on BCAS YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frzNQM8If40&t=1409s

The session
started with the explanation that extensions are third-party programmes that
add new features to browsers and personalise one’s browsing experience. Chrome
browser was open to accepting the maximum number of extensions. The speaker
explained a few extensions to help maximise productivity and save time when
using Chrome. He also explained extensions that can be used with Gmail, making
the mailing experience easy and more productive.

The session can be viewed on BCAS YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIn6i8YnGoc

This session
was jointly conducted by the HRD Committee along with the Technology Initiative
Committee. The faculty started by explaining the features of the desktop-based
app https://dictation.io/ which can be used through a web browser without
installing any application. He explained the copy and edit features and the use
of this platform to dictate in various languages. He then explained using
dictation facility in Gmail through a web browser as well as mobile phones.

The session can be viewed on BCAS YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01ZUIrbop0w

‘VIRTUAL’ STUDENTS STUDY CIRCLE

The Students
Forum under the auspices of the HRD Committee organised its first ‘Virtual’
Students Study Circle meeting during the lockdown on the key subject of ‘Bank
Audit – Recent Changes and Covid-19 Impact’. It was conducted via Zoom Meetings
on 16^th April from 6 to 7.30 pm.

The study
circle was led by Pankaj Tiwari who is an expert on the subject. Azvi
Khalid, the student Co-ordinator, introduced the speaker and spoke about
the activities undertaken by BCAS for students.

In his
detailed presentation, Pankaj covered all the major aspects of bank
audits. He explained in brief the relief granted by RBI after assessing the
current situation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. He dwelt in detail on
the impact of the relief measures for banks, such as changes in Asset
Classification and Provisioning, Income Recognition, Deferment of EMI on
various loans, and the impact of the same on audit procedure. He also touched
upon the important aspects that need to be taken into consideration while
conducting the audit.

The speaker
answered all the questions raised by the participants. The interactive session
ended with Azvi Khalid proposing the vote of thanks to the speaker for
enlightening the students with his expert knowledge.

‘RANKERS’ SECRETS – LEARNINGS AND INSPIRATION FOR CA
STUDENTS’

The Seminar,
Public Relations and Membership Development Committee organised a talk by
toppers (single-digit rankers) on the above subject on 3^rd May over
the Zoom meeting platform.

The digital
meeting was addressed by Kushal Lodha [CA Final (AIR 5), CA IPCC (AIR
5), CA CPT (AIR 6)] and Dhruv Kothari [CA Final (AIR 2), CA IPCC (AIR
22)].

At the
beginning of the session, President Manish Sampat shared some details of
his journey and experience as a Chartered Accountant with the student
participants.

The speakers
themselves shared their thought processes, how they approached the CA exams,
what discipline they followed, which materials they referred to, how many times
they revised their subjects, last-day preparations, analysing exam papers, how
to approach the same and many such questions.

After their
address, the Coordinators’ panel asked questions and the speakers answered each
one in detail.

The session
was highly motivating and around 540 participants, including on the Zoom
meeting platform and on YouTube, benefited from the experience of the two top
rankers.

SAMVID 2020 – MSME’S STEPS TOWARDS
ATMANIRBHARTA

The Bombay
Chartered Accountants’ Society was the knowledge partner for a webinar
organised by the Mahesh Professional Forum, Pune, on ‘SAMVID 2020 – MSME’s
Steps Towards Atmanirbharta’ on 23^rd May. The online session
was held between 4 and 6 pm.

President Manish
Sampat set the ball rolling with his introductory speech in which he shared
details about the BCAS, its motto and activities. He also introduced the
topic and its relevance in the current times.

The first
speaker was Anand Bathiya who focused on the context, scope and benefits
of registration as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He described
its revised definition, the registration process and the benefits and details
of various schemes for MSMEs. He also explained a few key initiatives like the Atmanirbhar
Scheme and the TReDS platform.

The second
session was taken up by Chirag Doshi who spoke on the Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs) for MSMEs. He also explained the plan of action for revival
of small enterprises after they open up when the Covid-19 lockdown ends.

Mrinal Mehta
was at the helm for the third session and explained the tax provisions
applicable to MSMEs. He also discussed the tax incentives and schemes available
under the Direct and Indirect Tax regimes for MSMEs. The reliefs in the
statutory due dates announced by the government because of Covid-19 were also
discussed.

After the
key speakers the panel of Coordinators posed the viewers’ questions and the
speakers answered each and every one of them.

The session
attracted more than 1,100 participants from all over the country who said that
they had immensely benefited from the knowledge and practical experience shared
by the speakers.

The role of BCAS,
which was the knowledge partner, was highly appreciated by the SAMVID committee
for its quality and support.

BCAS IDEA ANALYTICS SCHOOL FOR INTERNAL AUDITORS

To help develop Data Analytics skills amongst Internal Audit
professionals in a structured and focused manner, the Internal Audit Committee
of the BCAS, in association with SAMA Audit Systems and Softwares Pvt.
Ltd., designed a unique online hands-on course on data analytics using IDEA
tools at two levels – Intermediate (two batches announced) and Expert (one
batch), every course comprising of five online sessions of two and a half hours
each, with the IDEA Analytics software and data files being made available to
each participant for a hands-on experience. The first Intermediate course was
launched in May and the other two courses are scheduled for June, 2020.

The course
is being conducted by certified IDEA trainers and includes availability of IDEA
software tools for 45 days and a help-desk for assisting the participants
navigate their way in IDEA for a period of two weeks.

10^TH Ind AS RESIDENTIAL STUDY
COURSE

This year
the BCAS completed a full decade of its Ind AS Residential Study Course
(RSC). The journey of RSCs began at the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini just outside
Bombay city in December, 2009 and marked a new avenue of learning and sharing
knowledge on Ind AS. Over the last nine years, RSC participants got together at
various locations over two nights and three days for discussions on this vital
subject.

Fittingly,
the 10^th edition was organised at the Hyatt Alila Diwa Hotel in Goa
from 5^th to 8^th March. In a departure to mark the 10^th
edition of this sought-after and eagerly-awaited study course – and with exotic
Goa being chosen as the venue, spouses were also allowed to join. In another
departure from the norm, the duration of the RSC was also extended by one more
day to three nights and four days. The RSC witnessed a very large number of
participants from all over the country. For the spouses and the participants,
special tours, events and activities were planned, such as a Panjim city tour,
a cruise, beach activities and so on.

As usual,
the 10^th RSC also followed the format of extensive group discussions
on Case Studies-based papers, presentation papers on subjects of current
topical interest and a panel discussion with experts. The participants were
divided into three groups to have in-depth discussions and a learning and
sharing experience. The group leaders made strenuous efforts to prepare their
presentations for detailed discussions.

The list of
topics and the paper writers / presenters is as under:

The RSC
started on Thursday, 5^th March with the inaugural session at which
President Manish Sampat; Himanshu Kishnadwala, Chairman of the
Accounting and Auditing Committee; Chirag Doshi, Managing Committee
Member and Convener; Amit Purohit and Nikhil Patel, Conveners,
were present. In his opening remarks, the President wished the participants a
great learning experience. He also spoke briefly about the activities
undertaken by BCAS and invited non-members to join it and gain
uninterrupted knowledge. Himanshu Kishnadwala briefly explained the
importance and relevance of RSCs and outlined the events planned for the
following four days.

The
inauguration was followed by the presentation paper on ‘Taxation Aspects of Ind
AS (including GST and MAT)’ by Gautam B. Doshi and another presentation
paper on ‘Recent Developments in Statutory Audit and Audit Reporting (including
CARO 2020)’ by Himanshu Kishnadwala.

On the next
morning, the study groups discussed the ‘Case Studies on Business Combination and
Consolidation and Ind AS 116-Leases’ by Raj Mullick. The group
discussion was followed by the presentation and reply by Raj Mullick,
the Paper writer. The second half of the day was set aside for leisure
activities for the participants.

Saturday
morning (7^th March) saw fun-filled beach activities, which was
followed by the group discussion on Paper 2 – ‘Case Studies on Financial
Instruments and Ind AS 115-Revenue’ by V. Venkat. The post-lunch
session featured the Presentation Paper on ‘Conceptual Framework for Ind AS and
Recent Developments at IASB’ by Vidhyadhar Kulkarni, followed by
Response to Paper 2 Case Studies by V. Venkat.

A highly
interesting and lively panel discussion on ‘Utility of Financial Statements and
Relevance of Audit’ was organised on 8^th March (Sunday), the last
day of the RSC. The panellists were Nilesh Vikamsey, Raj Mullick, Prashant
Jain and Jigar Shah. The discussion was moderated by Sandeep Shah.

(Readers are
requested to refer to the April, 2020 issue of the BCAJ wherein we carried
an exhaustive report on the above panel discussion. It was written by Zubin
Billimoria and appeared under the headline ‘Panel Discussion on Utility of
Financial Statements and Relevance of Audit at the 10^th Ind AS RSC’.
The report appeared on Page No.s 101 to 104.)

Incidentally,
at the panel discussion a publication titled ‘Mandatory Accounting Standards
(Ind AS) – Extracts From Published Accounts’ was also released. The booking for
the publication was opened for outstation members and the response was very
positive.

The RSC
ended with a concluding session at which those members who were first-time
participants shared their experience of the event. Those who had participated
in five or more RSCs (including past and present) were also honoured on the
occasion.

The Chairman
thanked the participants for making the event a grand success. And Manish
Sampat thanked him, Himanshu, for successfully planning and
executing such an important event this year by setting a very high benchmark
for quality learning.

Before
leaving, most participants said they had benefited immensely from the knowledge
shared by the learned and experienced faculties and also from the group
discussions.

OUR WORLD AFTER COVID-19

The Managing
Committee of the BCAS organised a virtual chat on ‘The World and
India Post Covid-19’ on 9^th May with the celebrated entrepreneur
and academician, Mr. Mohandas Pai (pictured below).

A Padma
Shri awardee, he is the Chairman of Manipal Global Education (Manipal
University). A former Director of Infosys and Head of the Administration,
Education and Research, Financial, Human Resources of Infosys Leadership
Institute, he was also an all-India rank holder at the CA finals of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The expert
chat was crafted under the pressing times of Covid-19 to enable the
viewer-participants to understand the effect of Covid-19 in the fields of
economics, business and health, along with the dynamics of how this pandemic
will affect both India and the world. Had the government done enough for the
country? How will India make up for the loss? Will there be revival in the
economy? What will be the future of the world and of our country?

Padamchand
Khincha helped arrange the chat which was moderated by two Past Presidents
Shariq Contractor and BCAJ Editor Raman Jokhakar. The
welcome address was delivered by Mayur Nayak.

Mr. Pai forecast
that world dependence on China will reduce. China’s export strategies will no
longer benefit it. Already, it had suffered an economic decline of 6% in the
first quarter of this year, a negative decline of 6% in its $15 trillion
economy. China will now have to be dependent on internal consumption.

The oil
industry had been majorly impacted due to the pandemic. The second largest
industry in the world ($6 trillion), it was affected due to excess production
by America. China was the second largest consumer of oil, but thanks to the
virus its consumption of oil had come down. Owing to this, the oil industry
economy had fallen to $4 trillion. Excess production of oil by countries like
the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia had led to a crash in oil prices, accounting
for a decline in the oil economy to $1.5 trillion and reduction in consumption
from 100 million barrels to 30 million barrels a day.

Central
Banks around the world had been trying to control the crisis by improving
liquidity. The Federal Reserve had increased in the balance sheet from $1
trillion to $6 trillion, thanks to buying of Government and Corporate Bonds.
The growth this year could be negative.

Mr. Pai
stated that the travel and tourism industry was virtually at a halt and
hospitality, too, had been affected. These were the largest employers worldwide
but had come to a total standstill.

Before
Covid, the global GDP of around $82 trillion had been growing by 2 to 3%, but
now it was down by 8 to 10%. The same position applied to the USA, too. Such a
dip in the economy had never been experienced since the Second World War.
Anti-China sentiments, the decline of China and Japan and the currency crisis –
all of these were a new experience.

As for
India, Mr. Pai said agriculture is expected to grow by 3.5 to 4% with
expectation of a good monsoon. Industries related to construction and mining
are expected to go down by 2.5%. Services would move into negative territory
with 2 to 3% growth. In fact, India may see a flat growth rate of not more than
1.5% in its GDP.

‘Work from
Home’ is the mantra of the new era, with a 40 million workforce staying home
and working. As for IT, new developments would be witnessed in areas such as
TeleMedicine, E-Health, E-Education and
E-Entertainment.

So far as global trade is concerned, India is the next China. The world
will trust India more than China, especially in global trade and the pharma
sector. The government is expected to boost demand by spending Rs. 1 lakh
crores on infrastructure.

Mr. Pai advised Chartered
Accountants not to ‘turn to ghosts’ (seers, soothsayers and astrologers) but to
use technology to become more global and more efficient. They would be able to
offer a quantum leap in the volume and quality of the services that they could
provide.

He concluded by stating that by 2025 the emerging markets will have
higher GDP compared to the OECD countries. Globalisation had gone too far – far
ahead of the need – and was trying to find a new normal with equal stress on
national considerations.

‘This pandemic is like a global war. Globalisation has made us realise
that there is interdependence between nations. There will be some ups and downs
for the next three to four years,’ Mr. Pai added.

Clearly, the
expert chat was a reality check on the current times. The speaker was
professional in his approach and knowledgeable in the points that he covered.