INSTITUTE OF COST ACCOUNTANT  OF INDIA

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), previously known as the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI), is a premier statutory professional accountancy body in India with the objects of promoting, regulating and developing the profession of Cost Accountancy. It is the only licensing cum regulating body of Cost & Management Accountancy profession in India. It recommends the Cost Accounting Standards to be followed by companies in India to which statutory maintenance of cost records applicable. ICAI is solely responsible for setting the auditing and assurance standards for statutory Cost Audit to be followed in the Audit of Cost statements in India. It also issues other technical guidelines on several aspects like Internal Audit, Management Accounting etc. to be followed by practising Cost Accountants while discharging their services. It works closely with the industries, various departments of Government of India, State governments in India and other Regulating Authorities in India e.g. Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Securities and Exchange Board of India etc. on several aspects of performance, cost optimisation and reporting.

The ICAI is a Founder Member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC),^[1]Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA)^[2] and South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA).^[3] ICAI is a member of the National Foundation of Corporate Governance(NFCG).^[4] The headquarters of ICAI is situated in Kolkata, and operates through its four regional councils located at Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, 94 chapters in India and 78 chapters abroad.

HISTORY

The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) was first formed as a registered limited company in the year 1944 as per the provisions of the then companies Act, 1913 with the initial objective of promoting, regulating and developing the profession of Cost Accountancy. Post Independence, the institute got statutory recognition when the Parliament of India enacted "The Cost and Works Accountants Act" (Act No.23rd of 1959),^[5] a special act, on May 28, 1959 to accord statutory recognition to ICAI (then ICWAI) as an autonomous professional Institute with the objectives of promoting, regulating, and developing the profession of Cost and Management Accountancy.

The CWA Amendment bill, 2011 was passed by both the Houses of Indian Parliament viz. Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on December 12, 2011 and assented by the Honorable President of India on January 12, 2012. The changes were published in the Official Gazette of India on January 13, 2011.

Cost & Management Accountants (CMAs)[edit]

CMA Logo for exclusive use by Indian CMAs

This is the primary qualification of the ICAI and following completion of up to three levels (Foundation, Intermediate and Final) examinations^[6] and three years of practical training^[7] in areas like lManagement Accounting, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Taxation, Audits, Corporate Laws etc. enables an individual to become a Cost & Management Accountant.

• The new syllabus has been introduced in August 2016 following the International Education Guidelines (IEG) of IFAC to get the advantages in the process of Mutual Recognition Agreement ( MRA) among /different member countries of the world under GATS in WTO.
• Subjects for examinations include management accounting, Financial Accounting, strategic management, taxation, corporate law, financial management, business valuation, financial reporting and cost & management audit etc.
• Students who have passed degree examination of any recognised university or equivalent are eligible for admission directly to Intermediate level.
• Paperwise exemptions on the basis of reciprocal arrangement are available to students who have passed Institute of Company Secretaries of India Final Examination.^[8]
• Examinations are held twice a year in June and December in various examination centres in India and overseas centres. And Results are declared in the month of August and February for June term and December term exams respectively.^[9]

A student has to pass three levels of examination and complete three years of practical training to be eligible to apply for Associate membership of the Institute.

The members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India carry the designation ACMA (Associate Cost and Management Accountant) and FCMA (Fellow Cost and Management Accountant), as applicable based on their type of membership of the institute.