The new president of ICAI, DebashisMitra said that the new curriculum will reflect the suggestions from international education standards, the committee for review of education and training, and the views of corporate heads and eminent academicians. The new education policy wants a standard education system with the incorporation of technological advancement, multi-disciplinary case studies, application of higher-order thinking. In other words, the previous education system emphasised what to think. The new education policy insists on providing examples to train the mind. Do the examples provoke the mind about how to think? The answer is a big yes.
The logistic sector is the backbone of the manufacturing sector and helps for the smooth functioning of supply chain management. Between 2018 and 2022, the warehousing department received a 50,000 crore investment. World Bank provide the logistics performance index to understand the challenges and opportunities in the logistics sector. Germany, Hong Kong, USA and Singapore have ranked high than India in the logistics value chain. The digital transformation is beneficial to improving their trade and logistics. Logistics improve the manufacturing sector, indigenous products and international trade. Chartered accountants groom the logistic industry that supports domestic and international operations. GST help the logistic industry as the taxation process ease the movement of goods. The e-ways bills make the documentation process easy. The logistic sector, capital markets and start-up economy require technology, planning, risk management, forensic audit and analysis.
Specialised skill is attributed to the CA subjects with IT integration and practical training. The subjects like forensic audit, risk management and digital ecosystem are growing with new investigations and findings. The institute had decided to publish the curriculum draft to public exposure for 45 days. The institute also wants to create new roles in the accounting profession such as CSR accounting, carbon accounting, and environmental reporting. Self-paced virtual classes for working students, an open-book system, an increase of the industrial training to eighteen months, and communication skills building are some of the other values which the course needs to include. The changes in the curriculum are understood only if we analyse the syllabus with the business challenges. This blog shows some instances of risk management, forensic audit, communication skills, and technological advancement in the field of auditing. The comparison of global and domestic issues explains the education gap.
Risk management:
Risk management is essential to handle the political changes in the country. The following points elaborate on the domestic and international business climate:
• The trade barriers urge policy changes. NAFTA {North American free trade agreement} created a commercial agreement for trade in the trade centric countries such as the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The bilateral relationship improves the supply chain and trade. India is not into the NAFTA agreement.
• India has 50 trade agreements with different countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan, Africa, Australia and Afghanistan. To add value to the domestic manufacturing sector India signed an agreement with these countries and implement productive plans.
• The uncertainty of international financial activities leads to exposure to risk. The import and export businesses use the currency market to manage the price fluctuations. The futures and forwards help the business owners to manage risk.
• International markets help in reaching international clients. At the same time, domestic business and international business are prone to risk.
• The curriculum of Chartered accountancy must reflect the issues with globalization, the e-commerce industry, logistics and the manufacturing sector.
Forensic audit:
A forensic audit is offered as a certification course for the members of ICAI. If SEBI found charges over the Company, a forensic audit helped for producing evidence in the court to support the company. The following points explain the importance of forensic audit.
• The sectors vulnerable to forensic audit are manufacturing, telecom, hospitality and tourism, financial services, information technology, and real estate.
• In banks, the areas of fraud are bank deposits, inter-branch transactions, technical frauds, credit card or debit card fraud, cheque fraud, and identity fraud.
• In the corporate sector, fraud is with corruption, asset management, and financial statement.
• Insurance Company’s operations turn into fraud because of premium diversion, fee churning, workers’ compensation, false claims, and asset diversion.
• Health care fraud stories reveal the problems with duplicate claims, unbundling, billing for service not rendered, up to coding of services, and excess service.
• Consumer goods face the problems of false advertisement, unfair pricing, and unfair terms and services.
• The job of a forensic audit is to bring out the evidence behind the white-collar crime.
• After the forensic audit, the government lay economic policies with a reference to the fraud actions.
• A forensic audit is not only for court presentation, it also helps the individuals to make sound investment decisions.
• The books of accounts show the evidence. The forensic audit checks the documents other than a balance sheet. It helps for an effective accounting in the future.
Technological advancement:
Technology is the basic term that connects the multiple departments. Human resource management, client management, logistics, capital market operations, statutory audit, secretarial audit, cost audit, and tax audit are a tedious process that requires technological advancement. Data analysis, customer satisfaction, automation, artificial intelligence and robotics are the growing technology that makes the job of an accountant easy. Learning the latest changes in technology help accountants outperform in their profession.
Communication skills:
Chartered accountants need to have an eye for the detail. And listen to the opinion of internal and external authorities. Big Four Firms have clients from the global market. The working environment and client relationship demand communication skills.
Final words:
The syllabus change happens periodically. The changes reflect the subjects where there is advancement. The curriculum change is useful to handle the complex scenarios in the business. If the professionals project the commercial aspect of the industries, it helps to safeguard the industries. The role of an auditor has multiple facets. In the professional courses, the aspiring students need to gain intense knowledge about the auditing process.
