The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a world leader of the accountancy and finance professions, has been contracted by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to assist in the monitoring of DFSA-registered audit firms.

The DFSA is the independent regulator of one of the fastest growing capital markets in the world, and delivers world-class regulation in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It is responsible for the oversight of auditors of firms authorised by the DFSA to conduct financial services in the DIFC. This oversight role involves monitoring auditors and their work as well as independent inspection.

Vernon Soare, ICAEW Executive Director, Professional Standards, said:

“Being appointed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to offer technical assistance in the monitoring of Dubai’s audit firms is a great testament to our technical expertise. The fact that we were awarded this contract at the same time as we are also opening an office in the Middle East, gives us a great platform on which to offer our expertise and experience to other key stakeholders in the region.

“Audit is one of the corner stones of a transparent financial reporting system and critical for investor confidence. Dubai already has a robust system for monitoring of the firms providing audit services, something which offers further assurance to investors. We look forward to working closely with the DFSA over the next few years.”

The ICAEW has extensive experience in providing the same audit monitoring service in the UK, where it monitors the work of more than 4,500 audit firms, including non-public interest audit work of the Big 4 accountancy firms (Deloitte, Ernst Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers). It also has experience in providing this type of service for several other countries across Europe, Asia and Africa, and a longstanding knowledge of the development and adoption of international audit standards.

Source: ICAEW Website


Timberland sale is on. Find out more

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Click here to get updates by Email in your inbox

Or


Subscribe in a reader

or Follow me on Twitter 

You may also like to read

1. ICAI & ICAEW MOU
2. ICWAI & CIMA MOU
3. Adding value to business in global challenging environment
   

I am looking back at Year 2009 resolution that I had posted on the Management Accountant Blog. The focus had been on social and professional networking with professionals in the industry and keeping up-to-date with the latest happenings.

This year as before has marred with financial scandals, banker's bonuses and recession. So there are new challenges, upgrading of skills and an approach that is solution driven to help the businesses get past the difficult times. A Management Accountant has to be customer focussed to be a most sought out professional in the business.

Few pointers

Listen to your customer:  I often call up the customer support when I have trouble with my mobile phone and the call is connected to a support centre abroad. Sometime when I try to explain my problem but they give me all the bullet points that they can read from the list.  At that point, I have tell the support analyst, did you listen to my problem. I am not looking for what you know, but a solution that will fix my problem.  As Management Accountant are you listening to your customer before recommending a solution ?

You aim to be a good accountant and you are doomed: I would consider good accountant is one who knows the formats, accounting standards, management theories by heart. He can prepare financial statements from the trial balance by plotting the amounts correctly, talk about management theories and updates himself by reading lots of books. And above all he will be saying IFRS is coming. But when the business asks him for advise on strategies and interpretation of the financial statements, then he is not sure what his role is.  Have you trained yourself to be a business advisor who can provide alternative solutions ?

Satyam Scandal: The tremors in accountancy profession and corporate governance has not been that great in India before Satyam (people generally don't remember). Accounting bodies / business associations and bodies have been talking about an Public Independent Oversight body to oversee all the accountants in practise in India. Will the approach help ? The question is whether it is the time to reform and redesign the accountancy profession in India based on what the stakeholders need ?

  

Communication : I have been participating in various forums and interacting with lots of people. People share articles and post new topics and expect the discussion and interaction be wholesome. A general observation is people who become popular on the various forums are the ones who substantiate their views with references and facts rather than their perception. This provide the members in the discussion to come up with a better solution.  Many people prefer to communicate with them directly. Do you feel you as a accounting professional bring in an added-value to the interaction  or whom you are associated with ?

My New Year Resolution for year 2010 would be to improve myself on above aspects but also help you in doing so. The role as described by CMA Kedia - The management accounting professional should have attributes of a learning professional, a change agent and be hands on latest technology.

Keep reading Management Accountant Blog and stay tuned. Happy New Year to all of you.

Best Wishes,

Santosh Puthran


Timberland sale is on. Find out more

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Click here to get updates by Email in your inbox

Or


Subscribe in a reader

or Follow me on Twitter 


You may also like to read

1. Professional Body
2. New Year Resolution 2009
3. New Year Resolution 2008
4. Accounting Bodies or Cartels
   
5. Operational and Financial Review
6. MA Blog is 40th on the Top 50 Blogs for Accountants

Background: Accounting bodies in India are based on UK accounting concept and their governance is more of less similar to the UK bodies.

The public accounting practise in India are mostly driven by compliance audits i.e. certification by accountants in submission of returns / documentation to government / public authorities. Unlike in the UK where the public accountants are more in advisory / outsourcing services rather than audit.

In professions like medicine you will find doctors based on their skills and expertise e.g. General Physician, Heart surgern or optician, ophthalmologist where the patient consult the doctors with right skills and expertise. However similar categorisation does not exist in public practise of accountancy in India.

Public accountants in India like Chartered Accountants / Cost Accountants or Company Secretary can undertake accountancy / audit work for any client irrespective of size of the client ie. small company or large company or partnership or level of expertise of the work audit, compliance audit like tax audit / excise audit, corporate finance, corporate recovery, forensic, tax, people services, transaction services, and risk advisory.

Majority of Accounting firms in India are small in size and they are plenty in number. The public practise is primarily driven by the government notification and compliance services. So they would not like to come out of the comfort zone and their accounting bodies lobby with the government to get such.Moreover there is little incentive for them to go for advisory or consulting assignments since that would involve skills and expertise and continue to do what they are doing.

The advisory / consulting practise assignments are done by Big 4 accountancy firms (who call themselves as network of firms) or large accounting firms and their skills / expertise are continually enhanced as they work at multinational level.

The pointers to my thoughts are whether the regulating bodies in India are addressing the current issues faced by various stakeholders ?

• India has an extremely low ratio of one CA for every 9,000 persons - Mr Rahul Roy. How it can be addressed ?
• Indian businesses are increasingly being organised. Look around you will find Shopping Malls, freight companies, courier companies etc which 20 years earlier was run by government or sole proprietors.
• The government is issuing notifications every other day for certification of documents to be submitted to government authorities. Is it the time to have an accountants with lesser expertise who can perform certifications.
• Certified Accounting Technician courses by ICAI/ICWAI. ICAI has attempted to convert the Inter CAs to CAT. What is the benefit of CAT qualification to the holder of the qualification. Can he practise ?
• Will the users of accounting services benefit when there is a tier in practitioners of accounting services. (A parallel example, you can go to an optician for checking whether you have number in your eye, but you go to ophthalmologist better guidance due to his expertise in the area).
• Is there a classification of accountants in practise based on expertise, so that you as a member of public know who to go for a service ?
• Are you happy with how the accounting profession is regulated in India ? Do you feel there are unregulated firms that provide accounting services can be brought under regulatory umbrella
• Is there a need to have another accounting body who members would specialise in compliance based audits for government authorities
• Will practising accountants oppose such changes ? What does Code of Ethics say ?

Is tier based accounting qualification / practise required for India benefit the public. Will it help to regulate the profession better.(Unregulated accountants offer book keeping services )

Example:

Tier 1 - Accounting Technician

They should be to provide book keeping services, filing minor returns to small companies

Tier 2 - Inter passed of CA/ICWAI - (For namesake let me call them Certified Accountants)

They would able provide accounting services for small/medium companies and can do compliance based audit prescribed by government authorities(selected audit assignments). They cannot offer advisory / consulting services. The skill/expertise required for compliance audit is less since it is question of applying the rules correctly.

To give an example: If you are asked to compute current ratio, then it is matter of applying formula. However whether current ratio 2.0 is appropriate for your company and industry then it would require expertise to comment since it will based on various factors.

Tier 3 - Fully qualified accountants like ICWA/CA/CS

They would provide services to medium / large companies offering full range of services work audit, compliance audit, corporate finance, corporate recovery, forensic, tax, people services, transaction services, and risk advisory. The focus of the practising firms should be able to go towards advisory services and would be able to compete with Big 4. (Just like Indian IT firms are competiting with MNCs).

A tier based structure for accounting qualification and practise in India would encourage more people to pursue accountancy. Each level of qualification would require passing of exams / practical training and membership. The practitioners should be regulated and monitored by an independent Public Oversight body.

And it will help to regulate the Accounting profession in India better. Moreover it would encourage the fully qualified accountants to raise the standards of public practice. With MRAs in place, it would help the Indian Accounting firms to open practises abroad.

I would invite your views on this subject keeping in mind the current issues / practises India is facing and solutions that would help to solve the problem (without referring to accounting bodies in UK/Australia/US where the business environment is capitalist).

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Click here to get updates by Email in your inbox

Or


Subscribe in a reader

or Follow me on Twitter 


You may also like to read

1. Professional Body
2. Membership of an Accounting Body - Value Proposition
3. Profession v/s Professionalism
4. Accountancy Profession in India
5. The word "Chartered" hot debate in India