New Delhi Mar 30 PTI Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared a bill to amend the laws governing chartered accountants cost accountants and company secretaries providing for revamping the disciplinary committees of the respective professional institutes Once the amendments come into force the presiding officer of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAI will be a non-Chartered Accountant CA Similarly disciplinary committees of the institutes of cost accountants and company secretaries would also be presided over by individuals who are not cost accountants and company secretaries respectively Piloting the Chartered Accountants Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries Amendment Bill Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the amendments will not infringe upon the autonomy of the three institutes The changes will make the institutes more responsible and accountable and align them with global best practices she said while replying to a discussion on the bill The bill was passed by a voice vote after various amendments moved by opposition members were rejected The Institute of Cost Accountants of India is the apex body for cost accountants while the Institute of Company Secretaries of India ICSI is the key body for company secretaries Among other amendments the government has proposed that the disciplinary committee of each of the three apex institutes should have three nominated members who are not a part of the particular institute concerned The bill also provide for setting up of a coordination committee of the three bodies headed the Union Corporate Affairs Secretary PTI CS NAB RAM

New Delhi Dec 17 PTI The government on Friday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the laws governing chartered accountants cost accountants and company secretaries in order to mainly strengthen the disciplinary mechanisms in place at the respective institutesStrengthening the disciplinary mechanisms providing provision for time-bound disposal of cases against the members of the three institutes addressing the conflict of interest between the institutes administrative and disciplinary arms and enhancing overall accountability are the bills key objectivesThe Chartered Accountants the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries Amendment Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lower House on Friday amid Opposition din over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that happened in Uttar Pradesh in OctoberChartered accountants cost accountants and company secretaries come under the Chartered Accountants Act 1949 the Cost and Works Accountants Act 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act 1980 respectivelyFinance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who moved the bill said that on account of changes in the countrys economic and corporate environment it has become necessary to amend the ActsFurther recent corporate events have put the profession of chartered accountancy under a considerable scrutiny she said in the bills Statement of Objects and ReasonsIn recent years the role of certain chartered accountants has come under the scanner following various corporate frauds coming into lightThe amendments to the Acts have been proposed on the basis of recommendations made by a high-level committee that was set up by the corporate affairs ministry to examine the existing provisions in the Acts for dealing with the cases of misconduct in the three professional institutesThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of India the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India are the three professional institutes and they also have the powers to take disciplinary action against their respective membersThe recommendations were aimed at strengthening the existing mechanism and ensure speedy disposal of the disciplinary casesOne of the aims of the bill is to strengthen the disciplinary mechanism by augmenting the capacity of the disciplinary directorate concerned to deal with the complaints and information Besides it seeks to provide time-bound disposal of the cases by specifying the time limits for speedy disposal of the cases against members of the institutesThe bill also seeks to address the conflict of interest between the administrative and disciplinary arms of the institutes provide for a separate chapter on registration of firms with the respective institutes and include firms under the purview of the disciplinary mechanismAccording to the government the amendments would enhance accountability and transparency by providing for the audit of accounts of the institutes by a firm of chartered accountants to be appointed annually from the panel of auditors maintained by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of IndiaAnother objective is to provide autonomy to the council of the respective institutes to fix various fees PTI RAM BAL BAL