CAs air issues at poll

It's not just the competition from multinational accounting firms that is a sore point with younger professionals who cast their vote today to elect 26 members to the council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

The younger CAs nurse a grouse with the senior and established players too, who, they claim, are bagging all the assignments. Many ICAI members want the institute to take steps to improve opportunities for the younger lot.

The first day of ICAI elections was marked by a low turnout with many members opting to exercise their franchise on the second and final day. The burning issue this year, though, is the tussle between the multinational and the domestic accounting firms.

The CAs expected the new council to create a level-playing field for both domestic and foreign firms. The ICAI central council has already taken several decisions to address the fears of the domestic CA fraternity.

There are only three CAs from PricewaterhouseCoopers in the fray this year. "Even though only three MAF members are contesting, they have a good chance to win. One of the main advantage is that they belong to a very large organisation and have an assured vote bank," a CA said. They have also been aggressively campaigning to ensure a place in the council, he added.

Some CAs felt that rotation of auditors after a specific period of time for private audits could increase job opportunities for the younger professionals.

But a section argued that this step could backfire as two big firms could join hands and try to bag the assignment alternatively.

Another solution, a CA suggested, could be for the ICAI to spell out a set of rules whereby the audit assignments of smaller firms should be undertaken only by new entrants.

A member pointed out that at present, many institutions, including banks, favoured only those firms which had three or more fellow chartered accountants (FCA) with at least five years of experience.

He said the institute should encourage participation of the young and less experienced CAs by specifying that smaller firms with turnover of Rs one crore or less should employ firms with one FCA only, while the larger ones could ask for more FCAs in the accounting firm.