Women in chartered accountancy profession – T N Manoharan, former president of ICAI

The Indian accounting profession of CA is gradually coming to grips with at least two new trends. One, a considerable segment of the CA population is joining industry; and, two, women are increasingly taking up CA, says T N Manoharan, former president of ICAI.

Out of about 2,17,000 chartered accountants, fifty-two percent are in employment, and forty-eight percent, in public practice, he notes. Keeping this in mind, we need an initiative for industrial training during article-ship period of three years, suggests Manoharan. With more and more qualified CAs taking up jobs, rather than going into practice, it will be appropriate for them to be trained in the industrial or service sectors instead of only in the professional CA firms, he reasons.

Heading to fifty-fifty

In the year 2000, women among the total CAs in the country constituted only eight percent. It has reached twenty percent population, in 2013, informs Manoharan. “Among the CA students, one-third of the population comprises girls, and it is bound to increase to fifty-fifty, I am sure, by 2020. I wish them all the very best,” he adds.

Manoharan

Born in a freedom fighter's family with agricultural background, Manoharan served as the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. During his association with the ICAI, he was actively involved in many initiatives such as preparation of the road map for transition of the Government accounting system, convergence with IFRS in India, accounting reforms with reference to local bodies, making reforms in the CA education system, and proactive amendments to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, as Tech Mahindra informs.

“Manoharan was Chairman of ICAI Accounting Research Foundation. He was in the Board of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and in the Committees constituted by RBI, SEBI, C&AG and CBDT during 2006-07. He was a member of the International Accounting Education Standards Board of IFAC for 2 years up to November 2007 formulating global education standards for accounting professionals.” Importantly, Manoharan was nominated by the Government to the Board of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., and he made significant contribution for the revival of the company within a short span of time.

He is associated with the Public Health Foundation of India, an initiative of the Government to redress the limited institutional capacity in India for strengthening training, research and policy development in the area of public health.