Institute of Chartered Accountants of India - Role of Chartered Accountants

Role of Chartered Accountants

Chartered Accountants enjoy a statutory monopoly in audit of financial statements under the Companies Act, 1956, Income Tax Act, 1961 and various other statutes in India. Financial statements audited by a chartered accountant are presumed to have been prepared according to GAAP in India (otherwise the audit report should be qualified). However, not all Chartered Accountants work in audit. Firms of accountants provide varied business services, and many accountants are employed in commerce and industry. Their areas of expertise include financial reporting, auditing and assurance, arbitration, risk management, economics, corporate finance, management accounting, information systems audit, corporate law, direct tax, indirect tax and valuation of businesses. The Government of India is now planning to open up a new field of practice in social audit of government welfare schemes like MGNREGA and JnNURM. Apart from the field of professional practice, some CAs work in industry and commerce in financial and general management positions such as CFO and CEO.