Sitharaman, Dharmendra Address National CA Conference In Bhubaneswar; Call For Technology Adoption

Bhubaneswar: Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked chartered accountants to adequately familiarise themselves with new and growing areas of auditing, including ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and carbon accounting.

Addressing the National CA conference-2023 in Bhubaneswar, the Finance Minister said fast adoption of technology by these professionals will come in handy in such efforts. She asked CAs to embrace technology in a big way in their work as it would yield them huge productivity gains in their functioning.

“The Government is actively ensuring that India’s Chartered Accountants become global leaders and engage with counterparts from other countries, thus enabling the sharing of the best possible knowledge,” Sitharaman said.

Noting that India’s economy is driven by start-ups, new-age industries, and industries transitioning from traditional methods to modern approaches, she said all of this requires the support of CAs, guiding clients and encouraging them to embrace new technology. This will be possible only when CAs are at the top in adopting technology.

“I hope you will build on the success of the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) held in November 2022, and you should strive to forge more collaborations with other international organisations,” the Finance Minister added.

Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also addressed the event and said while India has become the 5th largest economy, we have also emerged as a global fin-tech superpower. “We are on course to become the 3rd largest economy. Our CA fraternity will be the catalyst of this economic growth,” he said

“They have to handhold and provide financial guidance to start-ups, women entrepreneurs, nano enterprises of the bottom of the pyramid and MSMEs for adding more strength and structure to India’s entrepreneurial spirit,” Dharmendra added.