Chairman Communique September  2021

Dear Professional Colleagues,

Wishing all our members and students a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

As Chartered Accountants, we are at the forefront of a business landscape that is experiencing one of its biggest overhauls in recent times, and professionals such as ourselves must remain on top of these developments, enabling us to stay one step ahead at all times.

Traditional practice avenues face the risk of redundancy as time passes, owing to increased reliance on automation and Artificial Intelligence driven solutions, and newer government policies moving in such a direction as well. In order to stay relevant, CA’s such as ourselves must expand our practice areas towards generating value for our clients, rather than relying solely on their compliance requirements.

Services such as value-adding consultancy, business advisory and support are to be adopted alongside our traditional practices in enabling better client retention. By creating new opportunities for our clients by providing these value-added services, we are paving the way for our clients to build their businesses to new heights.

With the economy of our country projected to grow to $5 Trillion, then to $10 Trillion by 2030, opportunities for us CA’s will only grow tenfold with time. The Institute is committed in providing all its resources in creating new learning opportunities for its members, enabling them in building all the necessary foundations in taking their practice to the next level.

In remembrance of CA N. Nityananda, who left for heavenly abode on the 21st of July, the Branch conducted a prayer meet in his memory where his family and close associates participated in paying their tributes. The Branch shall forever be indebted to his tireless contributions to the profession and to the fraternity

In the month of August, the Branch has conducted a variety of workshops and knowledge sessions on up and coming areas of practice. Twenty programs were conducted on a variety of topics, including Laws dealing with Economic Offences, Pleadings before the NCLT on IBC proceedings, opportunities for practitioners in FEMA and Mergers and Acquisitions. These sessions saw great amounts of participation and were well appreciated by members.

The Branch celebrated 75^th Independence Day, with Shri K. Jayaprakash Hegde, Ex-member of Parliament, Ex-Minister of Government of Karnataka and currently serving as the Chairman of Karnataka Backward Class Commission, who graced the occasion as our Chief Guest. The Chief Guest launched the Financial and Tax Literacy Initiative (VitiyaGyan.icai.org) at the Branch level on this auspicious occasion. In its commitment to the environment, the Branch had planted more than 200 saplings at the land allotted for ICAI Centre of Excellence, in Kalyanapura Village, Solur Hobli.

There are a host of engaging programs and sessions planned for the month of September. Kindly do visit www.bangaloreicai.org for more details on how to register and participate for the same.

SICASA Bengaluru conducted a Branch-level elocution and quiz competition on the 9^th of August and the winners went on to participate in the regional level competitions. The SICASA Speakers Forum conducted a Debate Competition, in the memory of CA Subramaniam Chittur between various branches across the country on the 15^th August. The finals of the competition were held on the 22^nd August and the event was graced by the Chairman of Board of Studies, ICAI, CA Jay Chharia, who addressed the students attending the finals.

With the intention of revamping and improving the quality of Coaching offered, the Branch has restructured the Coaching Class program, by including revision classes, crash courses and mock tests within the standard coaching fee for the benefit of the students.

Acknowledging the stress and anxieties associated with the examination process, the Branch has recently launched a counselling initiative for students who have had unsuccessful attempts in their examinations and are looking for guidance and support. These sessions will be held by trained counsellors. Interested students may avail this service by contacting the Administrative Officer ( 9880007906, 8660992284) at the Branch and scheduling an appointment for the same. We request members to inform their students of such an initiative.

The Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund (CABF) is an important fund for our fraternity who find themselves in situations of distress.  We have created a link in the Branch website (www.bangaloreicai.org) where you may make your donations to the fund. Individual receipts will be issued against the donations made along with the benefit of exemptions by way of S.80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Thank you, stay safe and stay healthy.

Yours in Service

CA B T Shetty

Chairman