Happy Chartered Accountants Day (01 July 1949) – History of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Chartered Accountants Day is celebrated on 1 July to mark the establishment of ICAI in 1949. Read the history of ICAI and the CA profession in India.

The history of the Chartered Accountancy profession in India goes back to the pre-independence period. The Companies Act, 1913 prescribed the appointment of a formal auditor with prescribed qualifications to audit company records. To act as an auditor, a person was required to obtain a restricted certificate from the local government, subject to the conditions prescribed.

The holder of a restricted certificate was allowed to practise only within the province of issue and in the language specified in the certificate. In 1918, a course called the Government Diploma in Accountancy was launched in Bombay, now Mumbai. After passing this diploma and completing three years of articled training under an approved accountant, a person became eligible for the grant of an unrestricted certificate. This certificate allowed the holder to practise as an auditor throughout India. Later, the issue of restricted certificates was discontinued in 1920.

In 1930, it was decided that the Government of India would maintain a register called the Register of Accountants. Any person whose name was entered in this register was called a Registered Accountant. Later, the Indian Accountancy Board was established to advise the Governor-General of India on accountancy matters and the qualifications of auditors.

However, it was felt that the accountancy profession in India was still largely unregulated, which created confusion regarding the qualifications of auditors. Therefore, in 1948, after India’s independence, an expert committee was formed to examine the matter. The committee recommended that a separate autonomous body of accountants should be established to regulate the profession.

The Government of India accepted this recommendation and enacted the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. Under Section 3 of the Act, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was established as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

ICAI was established on 1 July 1949 to regulate and develop the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India. Since then, 1 July is celebrated every year as Chartered Accountants Day, popularly known as CA Day.

The first President of ICAI was CA. G. P. Kapadia, who served from 1949 to 1952.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is a national professional accounting body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. It regulates the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India and plays an important role in setting professional, auditing, assurance, ethical, and technical standards for Chartered Accountants.

ICAI also works closely with the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and other regulatory bodies in matters relating to accounting, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, and corporate governance.

Chartered Accountants are rightly called partners in nation-building, as they contribute to financial discipline, transparency, compliance, governance, and the economic growth of the country.

Happy Chartered Accountants Day to all Chartered Accountants — the true partners in nation-building.