• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

A NEW campaign that has begun at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a series of eight ads. You can catch a preview of these at the ICAI's Web site, in case you had missed the ads that made it to magazines and newspapers.

A good move, actually, because the image of the accountant has been taking much beating in recent times.

"We remain committed to uphold the spirit of our credo, in word and deed, everyday," says the first of the images, where a runner is shown with a torch. It is "the torch of sound accounting practices burning," not to cause any concern that bookkeeping is getting reduced to embers, but the torch is "a glowing symbol of excellence, independence and integrity."

It is quite probable that heavy words such as these fail to convey much meaning and the whole thing falls flat as rhetoric. But talking about oneself is never easy, because of the tendency to slip into self-praise and glossing over foibles.

The second ad would inform that the three pillars of the profession are excellence, integrity and independence, a bit of change in the order of the `i' words but that is no matter of great concern. However, there are "two words that aptly sum up ICAI's prime mission": Professional excellence. Thus, there is excellence both as a pillar and the superstructure, which is being held up. A case, one may say, of running short of words, though a thesaurus could have suggested something in the place of excellence — such as fineness, brilliance, quality, distinction and so on.

"From day one, ICAI positioned itself as a glowing symbol of positive and progressive practices, enabling members to be in tune with the changing times, benefit from its forward-looking agenda and be in a position to contribute meaningfully to the world of business and industry," speaks the ad that doesn't have an accountant crunching numbers but playing a piano. A similar message comes through another visual that shows the conductor's baton, continuing the music metaphor. The comparison is perfect, some would say, because a skilled accountant can weave as much magic as an adept performer at the keyboard. Good music draws nice applause, but what is good is very subjective, not as in accounting where objectivity would have to play a key role, critics would hasten to point out, without counting their blessing. For, a redeeming feature is to get compared to musicians rather than chefs.

If you didn't know, there are `4 simple reasons' why `bright young men (and women too, possibly) should opt for CA as a preferred career choice': Professional prospects, social respectability, financial rewards and peer value. "Can you hear their future knocking?" is the punch line.

The ads are redefining transparency too: "Trust. Faith. Belief. Confidence. Credibility. To accept the audited accounts of a company on face value - that's what the norms of ICAI ensure." That's putting the synonyms of Word to good use, leaving more for future use: Such as, hope, conviction, expectation, reliance, and dependence.

As `a watchdog of principles' and `a custodian of values', the ICAI is `engaged in the business of upholding the spirit of true and fair in the professionalscape of India,' and `championing principles that reflect an iron fist with silken gloves for the errant exceptions going astray.' `The wolf in sheep's clothing' story?

hindubusinessline@hotmail.com

D. Murali

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Check on promoters

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line