The Hindu Business Line : Meet stresses on restructuring of commerce, biz education

THE two-day national seminar on `Accounting practices: An interactive dialogue with professionals' began here on Friday with a call to restructure commerce and business education.

The Mangalore branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and St Aloysius College, Mangalore, have jointly organised the seminar.

Inaugurating the event, Mr N. Vinay Hegde, President of Nitte Education Trust and Lamina Group of Industries, said that it is impossible to run a commercial organisation without good accounting practitioners adhering to the standards fixed by the ICAI.

Stating that many changes are coming in accounting practices, he said it is necessary to introspect whether the present education system is prepared for these changes. In such a situation, the institutions of excellence should be given academic autonomy to restructure their curriculum. This will help in preparing courses required for the current scenario, he said.

Stressing the need for teachers to equip themselves to changes in their areas of activities, Mr Hegde said they should work in a contemporary area — may be an industry — for sometime to update their knowledge. It is essential for the commerce teachers to update knowledge on latest accounting practices, he said.

Mr G. Ramaswamy, Central Committee Member of ICAI, New Delhi, spoke on the occasion.

Mr Nitin J. Shetty, Chairman of Mangalore branch of ICAI, who gave an insight into the new accounting standards, stressed the need for restructuring the commerce and business curriculum in colleges to meet the current needs of the industry.

Prof A.M. Narahari, Dean, Faculty of Commerce, St Aloysius College, Mangalore, welcomed the gathering.

Fr Eugene Lobo, Principal of St Aloysius College, presided over the inaugural function.