CA Act Amendment Bill 2021: ICAI Flags Concerns over Proposal on Disciplinary Panel Presiding Officer
Jambusaria noted that the ICAI council is of the view that the disciplinary committee should continue to have three CAs having domain expertise in accounting, auditing, code of ethics and technical matters of taxation. This would help to deal with and deliver appropriate justice in disciplinary cases, he added.
New Delhi, December 17: ICAI on Friday said proposed changes to the law that governs chartered accountants will help the institute function in a more cohesive manner, but raised concerns about the proposal to have a non-chartered accountant as a presiding officer of its disciplinary committee.
Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday introduced the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the Lok Sabha.
The bill seeks to make amendments to three laws, including the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) President Nihar N Jambusaria told PTI that the institute broadly welcomes the bill but has reservations on the proposal to have a non-chartered accountant (CA) as the presiding officer of the disciplinary committee.
The institute sets up disciplinary committees to look into alleged violations.
According to him, ICAI has concerns with regard to the constitution of the disciplinary committee. Under the current law, the committee has two government nominees and three members from the ICAI council. The bill has proposed to include two CAs and three non-CAs. Parliament Passes Surrogacy Bill, Seeks to Constitute National Surrogacy Board.
Jambusaria noted that the ICAI council is of the view that the disciplinary committee should continue to have three CAs having domain expertise in accounting, auditing, code of ethics and technical matters of taxation.
This would help to deal with and deliver appropriate justice in disciplinary cases, he added.
"ICAI has a reservation on having a non-CA as the Presiding Officer as a thorough knowledge of Accounting, Auditing and Ethical Standards and experience in the practice of at least 15 years is required to arrive at the right judgement in a disciplinary case.
"We have recommended that the current practice of having President or Vice President of ICAI as the Presiding Officer be continued," he said. However, he welcomed the proposal that the ICAI can recommend all five names, including non-CAs, for the disciplinary committee. At present, the government nominates two members to the panel.
"The amendment bill will further make the functioning of ICAI more cohesive and shall result in strengthening the corporate governance and quality of preparation and reporting of key statutory documents," Jambusaria said.
Among others, the bill has proposed giving powers to ICAI to initiate disciplinary action against CA firms. Currently, the institute cannot take action against CA firms.
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