The 68th Annual General
Meeting of the Society was held at the Garware Club, Churchgate, Mumbai on
Thursday, 6th July 2017.
CA. Chetan Shah, President of the
Society, took the Chair. Since the required quorum was present, he called the
meeting in order. All businesses as per the agenda given in the notice were
conducted, including adoption of accounts and appointment of auditors.
Mr. Suhas Paranjpe, Treasurer
announced the results of the election of the President, Vice President, two
Secretaries, Treasurer and eight members of the Managing Committee for the year
2017-18. The names of members as elected unopposed for the year 2017-18 were
announced. He also announced the names of the co-opted members for the year
2017-18.
Later, the “Jal Erach Dastur
Awards†for best feature and best article appearing in BCAS Journal during
2016-17 were announced. The winners were: Dr. Anup P. Shah for the best
feature, and CA. Gautam Nayak/ CA. Pradip N. Kapasi for best article.
The Special GST issue of the
Journal of July 2017 exclusively on “GST Features†and BCAS Publication Audit
Checklist- 7th Enlarged Edition-July, 2017 were released at the
hands of Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) for Power & Renewable Energy Mr
Piyush Goyal at the 69th Foundation day of the Society celebrated after the
Annual General Meeting of the Society.
At the end, guests including Past
Presidents of BCAS were invited on the dais to share their views and
experiences about the Society.
Outgoing President’s Speech
My colleagues on the dais, Past
Presidents, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good
Evening members!
This is Spencer West.
There aren’t many people in the
world like him. At the age of five, he tragically lost both his legs. But the
Canadian-born 31-year-old defied all the odds and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! This
is a story of determination, courage, focus, perseverance and hard work. A
story of months of intensive training to overcome extreme physical pressure.
What caught my eye is the message
on his T-Shirt – “Redefine Possible.†At BCAS, as we gather here on our
Founding Day, I believe we too have lived this motto. As a group of dedicated
volunteers, driven by a vision, have travelled a long way to reach this …
Founding Day. So many people here, including my colleagues on the Dias, have
overcome situations when we were up against the wall and we persevered, when
there were moments of frustration and we showed temperance, things often seem
to take longer than they should have but we firmly stayed the course. So many
have given their personal and family time and made these years and particularly
the last one year fruitful for members. As I stand here on my last day as the
President I can say that as we surmount we now have the confidence to DREAM
BIGGER!
Having said that I would like to
walk you through “The News this Year,†and to make it a little more
interesting I am going to give it a sports flavor.
So,
let’s start at the beginning of the 67th Annual General Meeting in July last
year…when I was handed OVER the torch, I chose to adopt a theme which was close
to my heart to be our guiding light for the year ahead. The theme was “Today’s
Vision, Tomorrow’s Reality.†The wisdom contained in these four words were
influenced by the famous twentieth-century poet, painter and philosopher Khalil
Gibran. He said, “We are not limited by our abilities, but by our vision.†And
I realized that we need to focus on developing a powerful, telescopic vision at
BCAS, rather than merely looking at our combined abilities.
To best understand how we
proceeded with the task ahead, let us look at the athlete who throws the
javelin. After scanning the vast sky above and the distant horizon, he throws
the javelin with all his arm and body muscles working seamlessly.
At BCAS, we embarked on the task
of discovering where we want to go…and identifying what route should we take to
get there. We met on many occasions in managing committee, other core
committees and with past torch bearers to draw up a suitable game plan. In the
process of planning, we gauged several untapped potentials and even pinpointed
any possible pitfalls. Some of the key points that emerged at this stage were:
• Harness technology to enhance
access to BCAS
• Explore new opportunities for
members to learn
• Consolidate presence on
national front
• Organize programs at the
doorsteps of outstation members
• Engage with related bodies to
multiply reach
• Encourage and Empower students
to be future leaders and
• Make crisp and effective
representations to ensure our voice is heard in the decision makers’ corridors.
With these findings, we moved to
the next phase where we gained insights from the world of basketball. We needed
to proceed ahead dodging several obstacles such as other commitments and
numerous time constraints. We also practiced more teamwork as we ‘passed’ the
assignment at hand to other members who were also better ‘positioned’ to take
it ahead. At this stage, we learned how to seize opportunities and move towards
implementation of the plans by getting logistics in place.
We
were now perfectly poised to take the LEAP (high jump) … SPRINT AHEAD (100
meters)…or take the PLUNGE (swimming)! And that’s what we did, moving swiftly
from one program to another is quick succession with high-quality deliverables.
And as you will shortly see they were all gold performances…and some more
golden! Now let’s take a look at the
winners in no particular order!
Quantum Leap – Technology Edge
BCAS
took a quantum leap akin to long jump into the digital arena which was an
enabler to provide easy access to all members. Live streaming technology for
live webcast and posting of our programs on YouTube channel has been a boon to
our outstation and distant suburb members to view at their convenience.
Facebook and LinkedIn are increasingly used as a face of the society for important updates. Payments can
be made online and our website has been revamped. An e-learning portal will be
launched shortly to extend training beyond geographic and time boundaries.
Hitting Bulls’ Eye – Experts
Chat
The
target questions by the moderators were pointed as in the game of Archery.
Experts Chat was a new game at the Society but Panelists, were veterans in
their knowledge reservoir, which was evidenced in their profound replies and it
developed into an excellent knowledge sharing platform. Six Experts Chat
sessions held this year command equal marks as they all drew increasing
attendance and viewership.
BCAS RRCs – Each RRC is like
20-20 Cricket Tournament where you learn so many subjects in a short span of
time.
The T20 matches was played at
various locations domestic and international. The Seminar Committee played at
Jaipur where the fiftieth edition of the RRC, the flagship program of the
society was conducted. It drew a record 275 participants from across India. The
International Taxation Committee played at Sri Lanka. The first time at an
international location was the ITF Conference. The Indirect Tax committee
played it at Pune with more than 330 participants. The Accounting and Auditing
committee played IndAS RSC at Silvassa. The MPR Committee played the Youth RRC
at Alibaug jointly with ICAI.
Each game was individually very
well played by all committees
Union Budget Lecture – Marathon
Run
The
Marathon run this year too was led by Senior Advocate Shri S.E. Dastur who
continued to wow the crowds with his powerful presentation. His detailed
analysis of the “Direct Tax Provisions of the Finance Bill, 2017†was a
remarkable run witnessed by 3,000 avid listeners at the auditorium, while over
10,000 watched it live from across India.
Besides
the RRC being played at various locations we chose not to play football within
BCAS but jointly with various other related organisations. Many joint programs
were conducted with other organizations to reach out to a larger audience in
Mumbai. Forum of Free Enterprise, Chamber of Tax Consultants, AIFTP, Indo-
American, ISME…were some of the organizations we worked with on these programs.
The game brought in a lot of cohesiveness in the game of the profession.
The reach of the Olympics was far
and wide this year. Members at various locations invited us to conduct programs
for the benefit of locals. To be more inclusive, BCAS reached out to its
outstation members with programs in Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Indore, Aurangabad and
Kolkata. Medals were in the form of increased membership and enrolment for
RRCs.
The novel concept of Inter
Committee Cricket Tournament was executed with thorough excitement and fun this
year.
To improve skill sets of its
members the society took up new initiatives. These are akin to introducing new
games to the Olympics. CAMBA a dedicated CA-MBA Course jointly with ISME was
launched to sharpen management skills and call the shots at par with MBAs in
the Society.
A Coach acts as a guide for every
sportsman (Virat Kohli may be an exception), anyway in the true spirit
of sportsmanship we continued the Mentorship program.
As
the Society succeeded in playing different games and enhanced its reach, it
created its visibility which made Organisations to join as FRIENDS of BCAS. A
new concept where various benefits are extended
to members.
Role in Governance
The interaction by profession with
the government is like a game of tennis. There is always a rally between the
players which is healthy for developing good governance
The society made 16
representations to various authorities…some were made jointly with other
organizations. IDS, ICDS, Rotation of Audit Firms and GST were some of the key
issues the society took up with the government.
Welcoming Students
Sprint
run by the Society was for the benefit of students. The run involved in
mentoring and motivating students and felicitating newly qualified CAs. The
final dash was 10th Jal Erach Dastur Students Annual Day where
talent bloomed at its best and brought together over 250 students.
BCAS disseminated knowledge to
students at the NM College and HR college.
Useful Publications
BCAS brought out a record number
of 17 publications this year. Referencer was the bestseller with over 5,000
copies. But the blockbuster is the BCAJ July special issue with a print run off
over 16,000 copies which will be
released today. There are two e-publications in Flipbook format that are
free for the members.
Education at BCAS
BCAS imparted knowledge through 40
Lecture Meetings with a total participation of 9,084 people, 58
Seminars/Courses/Workshops with a total participation of 7,065 people and a
record 110 study circle/study group meetings with a total participation of
2,552. These figures exclude thousands who have seen the videos online. This
enabled to add 943 new members and our social media presence augmented. More
statistics are in the Annual Report.
On attending many of these
meetings was itself a learning curve for me. But the Flip side is that by
attending so many meetings I have formed a habit of eating chocolates and
sweets sitting behind the desk.
BCAS Foundation
The
BCAS Foundation is the philanthropic expression of the society. Thank you,
members, for your large heartedness which enabled BCAS to collect more than Rs.
20 lakhs for the noble cause of improving pediatric cancer care to Tata
Memorial Hospital! With their generosity, we could contribute to the wellbeing
of 120 children suffering from this dreaded disease. However, we cannot rest on
the past laurels, and there is a lot we can do for such cause. I again exhort
all my fellow professionals to come forward and contribute each one’s might to
such a noble cause.
I now pass the baton to Narayan
Pasari, the new President of BCAS and the new core group members and office
bearers. I will definitely continue to
stand and cheer for Team BCAS, in fact run along as we keep raising the bar and
setting new records.
It is time to say a big thank you to the entire
team that has worked so tirelessly and painstakingly to make this year’s
performance so eventful and if I might add…successful too!
Let me begin this ode of gratitude
by expressing my sincere thanks to the Past Presidents a few of whom were at
the helm of our nine sub committees. Their invaluable insights and vast reservoir
of experience are what keeps driving the committees to push the limits…and
excel. As Chairmen and Co Chairmen of the sub committees they have been a
beacon of inspiration, enabling the committees to grapple with many challenges;
and win!
Let us have a round of
applause for our hardworking though silent Chairmen and their amazing teams.
Next, I must thank my Managing Committee and the
Office Bearers who have diligently shared vital expertise and invested long
hours in planning and facilitating the smooth flow of programs and events of
the society. With all my heart, I thank ……
Narayan who has an eagle’s
eye for details that compliments his exemplary admin skills in ensuring our
numerous programs run flawlessly.
Sunil has demonstrated
credentials in the sphere of IT besides GST and has played a pivotal role in
the Society’s IT initiatives, particularly now he is engaged in the launching
of e-learning platform.
Suhas who as Joint
Secretary willingly devoted his time and eagerly participated with many
innovative suggestions.
Manish who as treasurer,
kept an eye on the numbers and helped all of us to stay in balance and
perspective.
Please join me in thanking them
with a round of applause.
Then
there is the incredible BCAS Team comprised of Jyoti Malkani who was with us
until April as GM; Shreya, Javed, Upendra, Nikhil, Rathi, Kamaljeet, Bilal,
Reema, Sachin, Baboo, Harish, Prakash, Mamta, Rajaram, yes, the entire team and
not to forget my office boys. A big thank you for your unfailing and unstinted
support in keeping the wheels of BCAS turning smoothly.
Last but not the least, I would like to thank all
my partners and my firm for backing me in my journey especially Abhay, whose
abundant wisdom and good judgment helped me to chart new routes in the face of
obstacles. And how I can forget to thank my wife for bearing my early exit and
late entry to our abode, but she was adequately cautioned by the PPs…
And
special thanks to all the conveners, coordinators, contributors, speakers, our
publishers Finesse and Spenta, sister organisations and asociations and well-wishers
who have together made BCAS shine bright this year too.
It
would be most inappropriate for me to end this speech by saying goodbye…because
goodbye sounds so final, almost like closing a door…or escaping to some remote
place never to see each other again. Instead, I would like to say Fare Well,
not as in one word, but as two words – Fare Well! Because I believe the road
for BCAS stretches a long way ahead…Yes, there will be bumps and curves to
navigate, but more importantly, there will be many milestones to cross and many
mountains to conquer. And so, to everyone at BCAS, starting with President
Narayan, the Chairmen & the managing committees and members, I wish you all
a heartfelt Fare Well!
Thank
You!
Incoming
President’s Speech
My President Chetan, Vice
President Sunil, Joint Secretaries Manish and Abhay, Treasurer Suhas, Respected
Past Presidents present and in absentia, Members of the Managing Committee,
Core Group Members and my dear friends
Let me start my innings by
remembering my father Late CA. R. G. Pasari whom I lost 5 years ago. He would
have been a really happy man today as he always pushed me into the BCAS
activities. This was because he had worked with the likes of S. P. Mehtaji, B.
L. Kabraji and others who always had the highest respect for BCAS. He also read
the BCA Journal regularly till his demise.
I recognize the presence of my
mother Smt. Parvati Devi who is the source of my strength after my father and
also other members of my family.
To reach at this prestigious
position, I also thank my principal Late CA. Mangalbhai Vatsaraj under whom I
completed my articleship, CA Pravinbhai Dharia
(our auditor) and CA. B. L. Sardaji under whom I also took training post
my articles. Thanks is also due to the firms and the partners with whom I
worked during the last 2 and half decades.
As far as BCAS is concerned, a
small peep into my journey so far would be in order today. I became a LIFE
MEMBER in 1990 and started participating in the activities thanks to two of our
Past Presidents CA Harish Motiwalla and CA Pradip Thanawala. I was inducted
into the Core Group of the Society in 1994-95
and became a Committee Member in the Seminar Committee. I was appointed
a Convenor of this Committee in 1996-97 for the first time and have been an
integral part of this Committee for a fairly long time till I became a Office
Bearer under CA. Nitin Shingala. I served CA. Raman Jokhakar and CA. Chetan
Shah also during their Presidentship.
Before
I leap into the future with some of the many plans I have chalked out, I would
like to take time out to thank Chetan for his sincere and dedicated service as
President during the past year. It has been a tremendous learning experience
for me as I learnt not to get fettered or limited by a lack of experience or
ability. Instead Chetan always encouraged us all to think beyond and allow
vision to be the defining force in all our endeavors. In supporting Chetan over
the last many months I got invaluable exposure to multi-tasking and problem
solving.
So once again, let me welcome
and thank you all for coming here in such large numbers, and giving me this
opportunity to serve you as the 69th President of the BCAS.
We
are living in exciting times with considerable change happening both in India
and in the global arena. And these numerous changes provide an array of
challenges and incredible growth opportunities for all of us.
In
analyzing the Indian population we find it is comprised largely of young people
who are getting more and more literate and educated. They are also earning a
lot more than in earlier years and have greater disposable incomes. Their
buying power and consumption are playing a vital role in stimulating the
markets and growing the economy.
The Indian economy has defied many hurdles to cross
growth of over 7%. Stock exchanges have registered soaring indices and high
volumes of trading activity. Foreign Direct Investment is pouring in…in fact we
are the number one destination for FDI in the world, beating both United States
and China. Confidence in India’s economy is surging, thanks to the numerous
programs and reforms undertaken by the NDA Government with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi as its driving force.
Keeping pace with the phenomenal growth in the
Indian market are the vast array of services and products. And to ensure a
level playing field that’s fair and free, Indian companies have several new
laws and compliances to meet translating into enhanced business for all of us.
Globalization too is another stepping stone for all Indian companies keen on
getting more lucrative returns and a package of benefits. Here again as volumes
and diversity of exports grow, we have vast potential to harness greater
business.
As President, I have given myself
the task and responsibility of facilitating BCAS’ growth. I believe that if all
of us put an arm to the wheel, we can make BCAS a society that’s will be far
more recognized and respected within our profession and in financial circles.
Keeping this in perspective, I
have drawn up a plan that focuses on “Building Bridgesâ€.
A bridge is a structure that is
built over an obstacle to provide connectivity. And building bridges is the
underlying theme of how I plan, with all of you, to take BCAS ahead!
Bridges connect us and help us to
understand each other’s challenges… they also enable us to figure out how we
can help each other and show that we appreciate one another. Building bridges
also helps to prevent isolation. Because isolation can breed prejudice,
misunderstanding, mistrust; and impede effectiveness of working together.
I propose four main bridges
and hope you will help me in building them and BCAS!
1. TRANSFORMATION
High on my list of priorities is
task of increasing the resources of BCAS and growing the membership list. I
believe the Society needs to be more visible in order to attract more members.
On the resources front too, we have to look at all possibilities of
capitalizing on the reputation and goodwill we already have. There is plenty of
knowledge and expertise within, which I think can be leveraged to enhance the
image of BCAS. With the shrinking of the world to a global village we need to
explore options to benefit from this trend.
Let’s move to a sincere wish I
have!
2. YUVA SHAKTI
The youth! They are our future and
they can be the catalyst of evolution in our Society. I look forward to
encouraging new blood to take up key roles. And to ensure that happens I would
like to implement special incentive schemes to get more youth to join BCAS.
Having done that I would also like to ensure they get more opportunities and
platforms to express their ideas and vision. Recently, I heard about the
concept of “Shadow Committees†and I would like to set up Yuva Shadow
Committees. These groups of young minds will think aloud fresh ideas and approaches
on the same challenges faced by the managing committee…and I hope it will lead
to some positive change.
3. DIGITIZATION
Digitization is not a fad or a passing trend that
some companies or individuals flaunt. Digitization is essential…it has become the
need of the hour! With digitization we will be better empowered to manage our
resources and conduct our business. I look forward to digitizing as much as I
can of BCAS’ operations and resources. A good start has already been made in
this direction and I would like to add momentum to the entire process. In
addition to being able to disseminate knowledge, we would be able to translate
information into action more effectively.
Finally I
would like to tackle a relatively ignored activity of our Society…
4.
NETWORKING
Networking
is a mantra that is much advocated by many of the management gurus. At BCAS, I
feel we should work harder in this area. Be it the government, corporate or
fraternity level, we need to step up our efforts. I hope we will be able to
take some giant strides in this area by organizing some events to reflect the
“Start Up India and Digital India†initiatives undertaken by the government. We
could even re-look at some of events and tweak the format to include moments of
interaction and networking. Using our digitized resources and media, we could
reach out to a wider audience and serve the members better. BCAS could provide
more platforms in the form of events for networking among accounting firms.
Networking Power Summit is one format which could be organized more frequently
or modified to pave the way for greater networking.
These
are just some of my ideas that I have put together to set the ball rolling.
While I and my colleagues remain open to various suggestions and infact welcome
it, I would like to call upon each one of you to join us in this process of
transformation of society to the needs of the present times by
mobilizing the power of yuva-shakti & digitization to build
bridges for expansion by creating robust networks. I am sure I will continue to receive the same
love and affection from you in this very important journey of life.
Thank
You
Students Committee performing the flash mob
