Venkat Raman –
Qualified Members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) would have a unique opportunity of continuing their membership here as the Institute opens a new Chapter in New Zealand.
Chandan Ohri, Partner, Head of IT Consultancy and India Market Leader at KPMG New Zealand has been appointed to the post of Chairman of the new Chapter.
Raj Kapoor (who was active in the Northern Division of ICAI until his recent migration to New Zealand) has been appointed to the post of Vice-Chairman, while Bimal Dalal (Reliable Accounting Services Limited) and Prasad Kutkal, (who migrated to New Zealand about four months ago) to the posts of Secretary and Treasurer.
Significant milestone
The New Zealand Chapter will be formally inaugurated on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at KPMG House in Auckland’s Viaduct, entry to which is by invitation.
ICAI President Manoj Fadnis and Vice-President M Devaraja Reddy will be arriving from India to attend the event.
Mr Ohri said that the opening of the new Chapter will mark a significant milestone in New Zealand’s accounting profession.
“The New Zealand Chapter will prove to be an advantage for Chartered Accountants who were qualified in India. This Chapter has a cooperation agreement with Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CA ANZ) and the New Zealand Chapter of CPA Australia. The ICAI Chapter will facilitate practicing Chartered Accountants to function better,” he said.
Mr Ohri said future plans envisage increasing working relationship between the Chartered Accountants and CPAs in New Zealand and India.
“ICAI is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) for the regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. During its 67 years of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for its contribution in the fields of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards,” Mr Ohri said.
ICAI now is the second largest accounting body in the world, with 160,000 members and more than 726,000 students, he added.
NZ Arrangement
According to CA ANZ, a body that regulates the profession and its professionals on both sides of the Tasman, an agreement was signed with ICAI in 2009, which includes the mutual recognition of accounting qualifications.
“As a result, members of CA ANZ will be eligible to apply for membership of ICAI and vice-versa (subject to completion of an additional country-specific module and meeting any statutory requirements),” a notification found on the CA ANZ website said.
Membership Requirements
Membership to CA ANZ is not automatic and ICAI members must comply with a number of requirements.
The website mentioned about accountants in Australia and not New Zealand.
“If you are a member of ICAI and wish to apply for membership of CA ANZ, you are required to (a) Be a current ICAI member in good standing who completed ICA India’s professional programme (b) Be currently living and/or working in Australia (c) Hold a degree assessed by the Australian National Office of Overseas Recognition as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree (d) Pass the final module of the Chartered Accountants Programme, Capstone, within two years of first enrolment. The practical experience you have gained to qualify for your ICA India membership is recognised as equivalent to that required for membership of CA ANZ.
Indian Newslink understands that an increasing number of New Zealand companies are outsourcing their accounting and balance sheet activities to accounting firms in India. The opening of the New Zealand Chapter of ICAI will prove to be an interesting and important turning point to the accounting profession.
