Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sent out personalised emails to over two lakh chartered accountants across the country as a follow-up to his address to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on Saturday, reiterating themes from his speech that chartered accountants need to pull their weight in combating corruption and black money.
The letter notes that regional centres of the ICAI were holding gatherings across the country and were “leaving no stone unturned to ensure the success of the Goods and Services Tax [GST]” regime.
On Saturday, Mr. Modi likened the role of chartered accountants in modern India to that of lawyers who participated in big numbers in India’s freedom movement. In the letter he goes on to re-iterate that appeal to the professional core. “India’s chartered accountants are well known across the world for their skills. The CA community plays a big role in safe-guarding the economic health of the country,” he says in the letter.
“CAs have a very important part to play in the creation of a New India, which is free from corruption and black money,” he says in the letter, which carries the link of Mr. Modi’s speech on Chartered Accountants Day. In that speech, he exhorted accountancy firms in India to break into the big four club of firms worldwide and announced that one lakh companies found funnelling black money were under the scanner.
“Your signature carries immense faith, please do not break that trust that is placed in you,” he said in his speech, a barely veiled warning of a crackdown on dodgy accounting practices.
Sources told The Hindu that accounting for black money and ending corrupt practices remained a priority for Mr. Modi. “It is an appeal to good professional practices,” said a source.
In the speech, Modi also invited feedback from the CA community on issues related to the implementation of the GST, or what he termed the “economic integration of India”.
