PM urges CAs to give more attention towards corporate governance

New Delhi, Jul 1 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked Chartered Accountants to reaffirm their commitment to the cause of excellence , independence, ethical conduct and highest standards of professional integrity.

Inaugurating the Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here, Dr Singh said an Indian chartered accountant is recognised worldwide as being among the best and the brightest in the profession.

The Prime Minister complimented the chartered accountants for the high standards of professionalism that they have come to be known for.

He said, "I sincerely believe that we cannot be satisfied with the status quo and I sincerely hope that the best is yet to come and that the next 60 years will be still more productive, innovative in the service of the people of our great country".

He added that the Institute of Chartered Accountants has been in the forefront in the development of accounting profession.

The impressive growth in their membership, from 1,700 members in 1949 to over 1.5 lakh today, bore testimony to the growing demand for their services both at home and abroad. Theirs was one of the premier accounting bodies in the world today and this was a matter of great pride for all of them.

He said like our engineers, doctors, scientists, technologists and other professionals, our chartered accountants too faced global competition and to their credit, they stood their ground. It was for this reason they were able to face the heat of that competition at home as well as abroad. Indian Chartered Accountants firms should expand their operations outside India and seek global opportunities and challenges.

Dr Singh said the role of the accounting profession is critical in lending credibility to the financial market transactions. Market participants, investors and shareholders look up to them for high quality information, which ensured market discipline and fostered confidence of various stakeholders. It was their responsibility to ensure that corporate entities do indeed conform to high governance standards.

The Prime Minister said he did not find adequate attention being given to corporate governance. Unless Indian firms come to be recognised worldwide for good corporate governance, they would not be able to compete globally in an increasingly inter-dependent integrated world.

He said the dynamism of a globalised capital market and the emergence of a knowledge-based economy and society have posed major challenges to an accurate and speedy financial reporting. He was therefore happy to learn that their Institute has faced these challenges by creating a large base of high class Chartered Accountants, and developed high quality financial reporting standards.

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