The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

As per its website, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No.XXXVIII of 1949) for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountancy in the country. The Institute, functions under the administrative control of the ministry of corporate affairs.

“The ICAI is the second largest professional body of Chartered Accountants in the world, with a strong tradition of service to the Indian economy in public interest,” the website read.

Significance

The day is marked to recognise the contribution of CAs in the country’s financial growth. Chartered accountants are engaged in all fields of business and finance, including auditing, taxation, financial and general management.

History

Before the formation of ICAI, the British Government kept accounts under the Indian Companies Act. As per reports, later in 1930, it was decided that the Government of India should maintain a register called the Register of Accountants. Under that system, any person whose name was entered in such register was called a Registered Accountant.

However, because of a lack of proper rules and regulations, it was felt that the accountancy profession was largely unregulated. To solve this, in 1948, an expert committee was created to look into the matter. It was this expert committee that recommended that a separate autonomous association of accountants should be formed to regulate the profession. In 1949, the Government of India accepted the recommendation and passed the Chartered Accountants Act.