From Sep, 80-hour course for global accounting standards

In an article on the 80 hour course launched by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in September, that will allow the chartered accountants to follow the International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS which will converge with

Indian Accounting Standards (IAS), by April 2011.

According to Dolphy D’Souza, partner at audit and consulting firm, Ernst and Young India Pvt. Ltd, the 80-hour course is a good starting point.

“There are over 10,000 Indian companies, including banks and financial institutions, which will adopt IFRS by 2011. In fact, I feel students undergoing chartered accountancy courses now and in future should also have a specialized paper in IFRS as that is going to be the future accounting norms”. D’Souza further says that Ernst and Young India is an early adapter in understanding the nuances of IFRS and it sent employees to train in the European Union when it adopted IFRS in 2005. “We are looking at an opportunity to help train manpower in various companies for adopting IFRS. ”says D’Souza.

He comments that ICAI needs to go beyond just introducing a course for CAs and should lobby with the ministry of corporate affairs, of which ICAI is a part, to bring about the necessary amendment in the Companies Act, 1956, to make IFRS mandatory, besides lobbying with the income-tax department, central banker Reserve Bank of India, insurance regulator Insurance Development Regulatory Authority, and stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India to bring about changes in their regulations which will allow smooth adoption of IFRS. D’Souza feels that ICAI is going a bit slow on these fronts

Source: Live Mint

Aug 6 2008

http://www.livemint.com/2008/08/06003959/From-Sep-80hour-course-for-g.html