ICAI, IGNOU tie up for courses

The board of studies of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and various universities are working together for improvement of commerce education in India.

With the aim of avoiding repetitive study of subjects in chartered accountancy (CA) as well as in graduation, as part of the university system, the ICAI has tied up with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), for specialised B Com and M Com courses.

"We have identified common subjects like accountancy, auditing, costing, financial management, corporate laws, taxation, information technology and strategic management. In such joint research programmes, the ICAI's contribution will be application-oriented whereas the university system will provide theoretical foundation," said Sunil Talati, president, ICAI.

"The motive of such harmonised learning is to create a value-added CA course," he said.

Earlier, a student of the ICAI was allowed to pursue graduation, only after acquiring special permission under form number 112 of the institute. The institute now plans to strengthen its board of studies to act as an research centre for qualified chartered accountants, who are interested in pursuing post graduation course and higher learning through PhD.

"Under the existing system, students do not get the opportunity to enlarge the scope of learning. They look for various diplomas or short courses to enhance their knowledge," he said.

"Our effort is to improve the learning process. The whole process involves re-evaluation of the academic system and synergising the resources through integrating diverse academic requirements," Talati added.

These courses will be linked to the education and training scheme of chartered accountancy, which will constitute nearly 60 per cent of the course content. The rest will be covered by the university syllabus which will comprise languages courses including foreign languages, selected subjects of the social sciences, business organisation and management, banking, insurance, investment management, value and ethics, marketing management, human resource management among others.

The IGNOU is expected to come out with the brochure and prospectus any time now. Classes will take place at various centres of IGNOU all over the country.

The three-year B. Com course will include four modules, one according to the ignou's syllabus, one of the ICAI's professional competitive course, a practical training and 100 hours of computer training. However the tie-up, as of now is with Ignou only and hence graduate or post graduate courses at other university is not included in this programme.