A CA's signature is more powerful than that of a PM

PM Modi says, chartered accountants are like ambassadors of any country's economic system

Friends, chartered accountants are like ambassadors of any country’s economic system. Your work is like that of an interface between the government and the tax-paying companies and individuals. Your signature is more powerful than that of a prime minister.

Your signature is a testimony to the trust in the truth. Companies may be small or big. However, if you certify their books of account, then the government believes in that, people of the country believe in that.

And have you ever thought that once you have signed a balance sheet then no one questions the balance sheet of that company; files are not held up after that? Friends, a new chapter begins after that.

Today, I’ve come here to showcase that new life to you people. If you certify the account books of a company then the government officers trust in your assessment. The company grows, it flourishes and you people also grow, flourish with that. However, the matter doesn’t end there.

When you people certify the balance sheet of a company and when the details are placed before the public; when an old person invests his savings in a mutual fund; a poor widow invests her savings of the entire month in the share market, if, the correct situation of a company is not revealed, facts are concealed; and when the real position is exposed then not only that company sinks, the life of that poor widow sinks, too, that old person’s life, too, is devastated. They invest their lifetime savings only on the basis of just one signature of yours.

Hence, I appeal to you, I appeal to all of you because 125 crore people of India have faith in your signature. Never ever break their trust, don’t let anyone even doubt that.

If you feel deep down in your hearts that trust has been breached, then please come forward, please take initiative to restore that trust. The first of July, the date of your foundation, gives you another opportunity to restore that faith. I invite you, I have come here to invite you people to join in this festival to celebrate integrity. Please look at the importance of your work and then choose your path. You yourself will realise the pride that the society will have in you.

Friends, there are different definitions for the term “tax return”. However, I feel that whatever taxes are collected by a government have those taxes have been utilised in the development of the country or not? This is the “tax return”.

It plays an important role in curbing inflation. It provides a gas connection to a lady, who has used wood for cooking food all her life. This fund is used in giving old-age pension to those whose children shirked their responsibility of looking after them.

This money is used in providing self-employment to the youth, who works hard throughout the day so that he can attend evening classes to complete his education.

This money is being used in providing affordable medicines to those poor people who don’t have money for their treatment, who can’t afford to take a break from their work despite illness lest their children go to bed without a meal.

The money collected through taxes is being used for those brave soldiers, who risk their lives on the border to protect us.This money is being used in providing electricity to those households that don’t have electricity supply even after 70 years of independence. Not a single bulb was ever illuminated in their homes; they have been living without electricity.

What could be a greater service than helping the country’s poor in providing what is due to them! You could have never imagined that how just one signature of yours can help the poor people of this country.

Chartered accountants have an extremely important role in the success and proper implementation of the laws recently passed by the government, particularly the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Under this code, when a company has been declared bankrupt, then its control will be passed on to an insolvency practitioner. Chartered accountants can start a new career in this field by becoming insolvency practitioners. This is a new avenue opened by the government for you people. However, whichever path you people choose today, in that path, the term CA should mean charter and accuracy, compliance and authenticity.

Can’t you help in providing a transparent and corruption-free system for the country? What will you say? Will you look at the number of the people that you saved from paying taxes? Or will you look at the number of people that were encouraged by you to lead honest lives by paying taxes? You will have to decide on this.

You set a target for yourself that how many people you will bring into the mainstream by honestly paying taxes. Who can be a better judge than you yourself to set a target for this task?

Please also think how you can expand the role of technology in your profession. What could be the role of forensic science in the field of chartered accountancy, how to use that, how to cater to that, if possible you should also set targets for these things, too.

Friends, I have one more expectation from you since you can do it. I fail to understand why you lag behind. Friends, there are four highly respected audit firms in the world and top companies and institutions entrust these four firms with their audit work. These are called big four. We are nowhere in these big four. You are capable of it and there is no dearth of talent either. All of my friends, can you set a target for yourself if India were to gain respect in the world then when India will celebrate 75 years of its independence in 2022, then we will convert these big four into big eight?

And out of those big eight, four big firms will belong to the people who are sitting here before me. Friends, this is our dream. And it’s not difficult given the reputation and professionalism of our firms.

Edited excerpt from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address on the foundation day of Institute of Chartered Accountants in India in New Delhi on July 1