The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will approach the University Grants Commission to accord postgraduate degree status for Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification.
ICAI president Nilesh S. Vikamsey said here on Saturday that recognising the CA qualification as a postgraduate degree would help the candidates pursue higher studies and improve their chances of taking up assignments abroad. “It would give our chartered accountants an edge, especially in countries like the U.S.,” he said. Mr. Vikamsey was here to participate in the golden jubilee celebrations of the Ernakulam chapter of the ICAI.
Already, 101 Indian universities, six IIMs and two IITs have recognised chartered accountancy qualification for the specific purpose of registration for PhD programmes.
'Landmark reform'
Terming GST "a landmark financial reform,"" Mr. Vikamsey said it was but natural that States had different views on it. “But under the current circumstances, It’s the best piece of legislation. We need to go to the ideal situation. For example, we have got four slabs. Going forward, can we reduce these slabs? Yes, definitely that would be our target. This is the first step to build confidence between the Centre and State governments,” he said.
Stating that the idea of GST was to bring the parallel economy into the mainstream, Mr. Vikamsey said that the government had accepted nearly 131 suggestions on GST proposed by the ICAI. “Yes, some more relaxations are expected. Once it stabilises, the government will have the confidence to reduce the slabs,” he said.
Reacting to the Kerala government’s criticism that it was facing revenue shortfall owing to GST, Mr. Vikamsey said that the Centre had given so many assurances to States to compensate them for the loss of revenue following the implementation of GST.
Maintaining that the CA course was the most cost-effective programme in the country, Mr. Vikamsey said that the new course curriculum would help increase the output “because we have made the entry slightly difficult. Earlier, it was easy to enter and difficult to exit. Now, the entry limit is slightly tough so that the chances of clearing the final will be easier.”
