Welcome to Accountancy Portal

The Cost Accounting Standards, Statements on Standard Auditing Practices and Guidance Notes establish standards which have to be complied with to ensure that costing statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted Cost accounting standards and that auditors carry out their audits in accordance with the generally accepted auditing practices.

They become mandatory on the dates specified in the respective document or notified by the Council.

Cost Accounting Standards are formulated by the Cost Accounting Standards Board and issued by the Council of the Institute.

The Cost Accounting Standards are issued for use in the presentation of Cost statements. They become mandatory on the dates specified in the respective Accounting Standards or notified by the Council in this behalf.

Every Cost Statement shall comply with the cost accounting standards.
Where the Cost Statements of the company do not comply with the Cost Accounting standards, such companies shall disclose the deviation from the standards, the reasons for such deviation; and the effect, if any, arising due to such deviation.

‘Guidance Notes’ are primarily designed to provide guidance to members on matters which may arise in the course of their professional work and on which they may desire assistance in resolving issues which may pose difficulty.

Guidance Notes are recommendatory in nature. A member should ordinarily follow recommendations in a guidance note .

“If the same have not been followed, the member should consider whether keeping in view the circumstances of the case, a disclosure in his report is necessary”

The Guidance Note on Internal Audit describes it as an independent and objective oriented assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organisation’s operations. It helps an organisation accomplish its objectives by bringing in the systematic and disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the operations of an organisation in totality.”

The Guidance Note on Cost of Production for Captive Consumption addresses the need of the Cost Practitioners in the field to have an authoritative guidance on various aspects involved in the valuation process and takes into consideration the methodology prescribed by the Cost Accounting Standard-4 issued by the Institute earlier.

Self Regulation Guidelines/directions are given in the context of use of designation etc. and manner of printing letter-heads and visiting cards, of the President, Vice-President of the Institute, Members of the Council, Chairmen of various Non-­Standing Committees of the Institute; Chairmen, other office ­bearers and Members of the Regional Councils; Chairmen, other office bearers and Members of the Managing Committees of Chapters

CWA Act provides for establishment of Quality Review Board to perform the following functions:

a) to make recommendations to the Council with regard to the quality of services provided by the members of the Institute
b) to review the quality of services provided by the members of the Institute including cost audit services; and
c) to guide the members of the Institute to improve the quality of services and adherence to the various statutory and other regulatory requirements

(i) The member should undergo minimum mandatory training for 12 hrs. in a period of 3 years.
(ii) The minimum hours of training in a year is 4 hrs.
(iii) The certificate of attendance for training have to be enclosed with the application for renewal of membership.

The attendance of members in National Cost Convention, Regional Cost Convention, Seminars/Workshops conducted by the Institute/Regional Councils/Chapters (both paid/unpaid programme) will be reckoned against the requirement of mandatory training period under this scheme.

The requirement specified above will not apply to a member who has attained the age of 65 years.

ICWAI regularly conducts seminars, MDP, PDP, Regional & National conventions to enable Members participate in the same and update their knowledge in the areas of Cost Management, Performance Management, Management Accounting concepts like Lean, ABC, JIT etc., Direct & Indirect Taxation, Accounting Standards, Management Audit and Financial Management.

A.PUBLICATIONS

The Management Accountant Journal

The Management Accountant is one of the most valued professional journals in India on Cost and Management Accounting, Cost management, Economics, Finance, Management, Corporate Laws and other relevant subjects. It is the official organ of ICWAI.

The Journal has an active circulation of around 25,000 copies per month circulating among the students and members of the Institute - most of them holding key positions in corporate and government sectors, education, consultancy, trade and services etc. Besides, it circulates among various other subscribers in India and abroad – most of them are institutional subscribers consisting of leading corporate houses, Universities and Institutes, professional and regulatory bodies in India and abroad.

The journal has been acclaimed widely not only in India but abroad also and many of its articles, features and editorials are extensively quoted in the national and international media. Two articles published in 1996-97 have also ranked among the best 10 articles on Management Accounting published in the world by International Federation Of Accountants.
Industry-Wise Publications

ICWAI has published Cost Accounting Record Rules And Cost Audit (Report) Rules for more than 30 industries – such as – Cycle, Cement, Automobile Battery, Tyre & Tube, Tractor, Aluminium, Vanaspati, Sugar, Paper, Fertilizer, Milk Food, etc.

B.RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

ICWAI has brought out the following Research publications:

- Financing Asset Replacement
- Inflation Accounting As A Tool to Fight Inflation
- Management Accounting Problems in Small Scale Industries
- Inflation Accounting Tools and Techniques
- Glossary Of Management Accounting Terms
- Corporate Capital Structure and Cost Of Capital
- Cost and Quality Control
- Management Information Reports for Operating Managers
- Cost Accounting in Commercial Banking Industry
- Farm Management Accounting And control
- Management Accountant and The Computer
- An Introduction to Cost Accounting in Commercial Banking Industry
- Management And Accounting for Research and Development - The Indian Praxis
- Research Bulletin ( Biannual each issue )
- Guidelines On Management Accounting: Capacity Determination
- Profit Planning
- Mutual Funds In India
- Human Resources Accounting

C. MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING GUIDELINES

ICWAI has so far brought out four Management Accounting Guidelines to provide guidance to its Members, Industries and Regulatory bodies in the area of Management Accounting.

MAG-I
IMPLEMENTING BENCHMARKING

MAG - II
VALUATIONS MANAGEMENT – A TOOL OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT

MAG – III
IMPLEMENTING CORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES

MAG-IV
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS

D.RESEARCH CENTRES

ICWAI has taken initiative to set up Research & Training Centres by laying the foundation stone for the Hyderabad Centre of Excellence, which will be the first in a series of such centres to be set up by ICWAI for research and training in the country.

It will be the state-of-the-art facility spread across 2,000 square metres with five floors which would primarily focus on research activities in services sector.

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Click here to get updates by Email in your inbox

Or

Subscribe in a reader

Visit MA Stores ? You will find something you are looking for ….

Related Articles

1. Profession v/s Professionalism - 4 ICWAI
2. Profession v/s Professionalism - 3 IMA, US
3. Lowballing
4. Membership of an Accounting Body - Value Proposition
5. Best Practice Managerial Accounting - SAP

3rd Meeting of Indo-UK Task Force on Corporate Governance Conclude

A two-day meeting of the Indo-UK Task Force on Corporate Governance concluded here today. The Task Force was constituted in 2006 to promote bilateral collaboration between India and UK in areas of mutual interest in corporate matters, including corporate regulation and governance. UK was represented at this 3rd meeting of the Task Force by eight- member British delegation, led by Mr Geoffrey Stanley Dart, Director, Corporate Law and Governance, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform(BERR), Government of UK; while the Indian side was led by Shri Anurag Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

The discussions held by the Group covered various areas including the Limited Liability Partnership Bill, Private versus Public Enforcement of Good Governance in context of Shareholder Activism; and Practical aspects of IFRS implementation. The Task Force also discussed sharing of experience on economic crises and the role of various regulatory and professional institutions in meeting emerging challenges. Specific areas of discussions also on increasing Institution-to-Institution and business-to-business contacts between entities in UK and India. UK agreed to share its experiences on functioning of insolvency practitioners, their licensing, and forming joint intelligence committees. Insolvency Practitioners Association(IPA), UK will help the Society of Insolvency Practitioners in India by hand holding, training of trainers, joint projects and sensitization of creditors.

British Airways Club World

The Task Force also emphasized the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility , i.e. CSR, and Corporate Governance in business value creation and sustainability. It was decided to take up a joint Research Project on “CSR as a contributory factor to sound business strategy”. The research will be funded by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs(IICA). ICSI and CASS Business School also agreed to work together on research, training and networking on CSR and corporate governance areas. ICSI would organize an international conference in UK in April 2009. Company Secretaries from India would participate and study UK systems and capacity building particularly in context of small and medium practitioners.

In addition to ICSI, ICAI, ICWAI, it was also agreed to expand regulator-to-regulator contact in field of Competition and Insolvency. IICA & NFCG would contribute as think tanks and knowledge managers in various initiatives. In pursuance of B2B contacts between the corporate of the two sides, Networking of Indian and UK firms will be facilitated for sharing of experiences, draw out best practices, improve standards, promote member to member contact.

Source: PIB Website

Sign up, make money displaying Oxado contextual ads!

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Subscribe to Management Accountant by Email

Or

Subscribe in a reader

If you liked this article, please visit one of the links below. I would appreciate it…

Management Accountant Store, US - Powered by Amazon
Management Accountant Store, UK Stores - Powered by Amazon, UK

You may also like to read

1. Ethical Decision Making
2. Ethics on ACCA website 11-Feb-2008
3. Combined of Corporate Governance UK 20-April-08
4. 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics 18-Feb-08
5. Professional Body 28-April-07
6. Resistance to Change 26-Apr-08
7. Business, Customer Value & Management Accounting 19-June-08
8. Activity Based Management - Dispelling the myths Par I - 13-June-08
9. How to Share Blog posts with friends 25-May-08
10. Management Accountant Blog Home

I have never seen such nastiest comments in my life about the accounting profession in India where the readers have commented on the article “IFRS: The magnificent obsession of ICAI by P S Prabhakar”

The writer has makes a valid point,

ICAI draws a lot of consolation from the fact that the Standards Advisory Council — another organ of the IASB — has a 1/38th share for India (Sailesh Haribhakti, again not nominated by ICAI) among its members (including 7 representatives from organisations such as World Bank, Basel Committee, IFAC, UNCTAD, International Association of Insurance Supervisors, etc). The EU has 12 members, Africa has 2, Latin America has 3, the United States has 3, even Singapore has 2, while countries like Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Israel & Brazil have one each, like India.

If, in spite of such scant respect shown to the Indian accounting profession and conscious ignoring of India’s premier accounting body, the ICAI, if the IASB is able to make ICAI simply dance to the tunes of IFRS (like cheerleaders), then what could be the motive?

However I believe that adopting IFRS by all the countries in the world will bring about standardisation as well as comparability of financial reporting. No local GAAP… less burden on business.

The MCA is moving in right direction where the NACAS with comprehensive mix of people will discuss on Accounting Standards and recommend as necessary. The role of Accounting bodies like ICAI and ICWAI should be primarily to train its professionals / students on accounting and auditing standards. (Judges do not prescribe laws). Globally you will notice that the standards are independent bodies FASB, IASB, IRBA, AASB.

What about other professions in India where the practising members are more than accountants ? Does the apex bodies regulate the profession in practise. Read the objective they have been set up for. Click below:

The objectives of both the apex bodies mentions more about how they regulate the education standards rather than how it regulates the profession. The apex bodies do not mention how it promote standards in practise (professionals) and how does it protect the customer (patients). If the controlling body lacks tooth, how can professions its monitors recognised internationally.

I do not feel good to read comments like

However the bottom line is ICAI (and ICWAI) has been protected statutorily for long enough. Now time to gear their professionals to develop 360 and face the reality of globalisation.

Regards,

Santosh Puthran

Do you like to be updated in Accountancy ?

Subscribe to Management Accountant by Email

Or

Subscribe in a reader

Visit MA Stores ? You will find something you are look for ….

MA Stores, US - Powered by Amazon
MA Stores, UK Stores - Powered by Amazon, UK
Digital Stores, US

You may also like to read

1. The word “Chartered” hot debate in India
2. Definition of Professional Body
3. Rivalry in Professional Services
4. Accountancy news June 10, 2007
5. Visionary approach of name change of ICWAI - ICAI’s member reactions
6. ICWAI applies for name change - ICAI’s ostrich approach to name change
   
7. ICAI’s new logo for its member

I read the Article “Waiver of cost audit, rules for industries not producing essential goods: CII” by Ganesh on 29-Jan-2008 and could not help pondering over the following point.

“Maintenance of cost accounting records entails a huge cost for companies in terms of time and money since they are required to be maintained in very minute and detailed manner. Details of all components of cost have to be included even though it may be insignificant. It may, at times, not be possible to extract such minute details even through a sophisticated ERP system. Maintenance of cost records is difficult for companies that produce multiple commodities, as actual consumption records have to be maintained for power, fuel and utilities per unit of production for each type of product. Moreover, non-application of these Rules to traded imported goods put our local industry to an unfair cost disadvantage, by unnecessarily increasing its transaction costs.”

When I read this, I have ask a simple question, “Is there any company in the world that does not maintain Cost Accounting Records ?”. In Middle East, it is not legal to get the Accounts Audited, but still the companies do it. Moreover they have Cost Accounting Records in place for decision making.

There was far cry in 1980s when the Railway was computerised in India and similar in 1990 in Banking Sector when Nationalised Banks were to be computerised - Loss of Jobs etc. You will notice now the private banks in India increased their business by the IT initiative bringing the Nationalised Banks to their knees by wooing their customers with superior services they can provide via their IT infrastructure.

I am not in favour of Tax Audit or middle men like CAs hired for dealing with government regulations by individuals and companies. They are a huge burden to the business in dealing and meeting up with Government regulations. In US, the companies have to comply with SOX and it is perculated in all American business across the world. Moreover the world is moving towards IFRS and segmental reporting which places increased responsibility on the business for comprehensive reporting. These inititatives were to contain the frauds that occured in large corporations like Enron, World.com etc. India should be proud that they have the Cost Audit Regulations in place from year 1959.

Management Accounting is required for the business (no one can argue). When MNCs operate, they implement the best information system in the world and their internal reporting is more focussed in Management Accounts rather than Financial Accounts.

The conclusion from report by Ganesh indicates that some companies wants to avoid Cost Audit with a excuse that it is too expensive to maintain. Internally, if you ask, these companies Financial Controllers, they will tell you how many they spend Excel to provide the same information to their management.

The only difference at the end of the day when the companies avoid investing in an ERP system with proper management accounting is whether they are going to survive in the long run. As Napolean said, “War is 90% information.”

Write to Ganesh - Click here

Did you like the post ?
Subscribe to Management Accountant by Email

Regards,

Santosh Puthran
Management Accountant Blog

Be my friend on Stumbleupon
http://talk2santosh.stumbleupon.com

I read somewhere

“Too many choices, too little time,
Who’s gonna change the system.
If I don’t do it, someone else will.
Time is money, both add up!
Business is civilized warfare!
Go for the kill! After all we are capitalists!
The end justifies the means.”

I stumbledupon on the video, “Only in India” and was relating the passage above.

I worked in one of the top IT companies and was based in Noida. The city is well known for reputed IT companies.

When you look at Noida roads, you will see all soughts of vehicles plying on the road. I was appalled to see Cycle Rickshaw on the roads given the fact Noida is IT hub and not a remote village in UP.

The question that came to my mind, “How will you eliminate Cycle Rickshaw from Noida ?” The solution very simple…. but difficult to implement. What is alternate employment opportunities for Cycle Rickshaw puller and who will fund them ? Any thoughts …. how to find a solution ? please share them….

Another thing I noticed in Noida one foot high footpath along the road. So when you cross the zebra crossing, you have to climb the footpath !!!

The funniest was ” Yahaan per Thanda beer milta hai” - You get cold beer here.

Did you like the post ?
Subscribe to Management Accountant by Email

Regards,

Santosh Puthran
Management Accountant Blog

Be my friend on Stumbleupon
http://talk2santosh.stumbleupon.com

You may also like to read

1. India’s retail policy attacked
2. Organic Growth - Yes or No
3. Organised Retailing - Manu’s Blog