The CA Institute has embarked on an initiative to make its newly launched international curriculum available in as many as 44 countries, positioning the CA qualification as a global qualification to meet the demand for accountancy professionals across the world.

As part of this initiative, certain papers of the curriculum and training requirements will be customised so that students of that country can be part of professional journey, Atul Kumar Gupta, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), told BusinessLine .

Gupta highlighted that globalisation, capital mobility and increased trade and services have resulted in the whole world virtually becoming one market.

Through its international curriculum, the ICAI is taking a step forward to achieve the government’s objective of internationalisation of higher education as enshrined in the New Education Policy 2020, he said.

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This was also to partner the government’s efforts in facilitating and supporting the economic growth of developing nations by imparting professional accountancy education to students of such countries (which do not have a national professional accountancy organisation of their own).

Economical course

“It (international curriculum) will be the most economical course on earth as far as financial courses are concerned,” Gupta said.

Giving an example, Gupta said that students, say in Nigeria, can pursue the chartered accountancy course which will be customised to their course and training requirements. Certain subjects will be country specific, say, for instance, curriculum focusing on Nigerian tax laws instead of the Indian income tax law.

The international curriculum of ICAI is being designed in such a manner to attract students from across developing nations that are in the initial stages of economic development, and the students, in turn, will contribute to the economic growth of their countries.

The existing structure of the CA curriculum with three levels of examination will be retained in the international curriculum. Education will continue to be imparted through distance learning by providing study materials and other educational inputs.

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In addition, greater emphasis will be laid on e-learning modes like e-books, e-lectures, e-journal and virtual coaching classes to bridge the distance learning gap. Information Technology Training (ITT) and Management and Communication Skills (MCS) will also be imparted online. The three-year concurrent practical / industrial training will be mandatory in the international curriculum as well.

New responsibilities

Over the years, the role of a chartered accountant has been evolving continually to assume newer responsibilities in a dynamic environment.

There has been a notable shift towards strategic decision making and entrepreneurial roles that add value beyond traditional accounting and auditing. The causative factors for the change, include globalisation, leading to increase in cross border transactions and consequent business complexities, significant developments in information and technology and financial scams underlining the need for a stringent regulatory set-up.

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