Expectation from CA Profession by CA MOTILAL OSWAL – Interview

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Motilal Oswal is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a well-known personality in the Capital Market with varied experience of over 2 decades in the financial service sector. The Government of India conferred him with the Rashtriya Samman Patra Award for being amongst the highest Income Tax payers in the country for a period of 5 years.

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 Q What are your expectations from a CA professional to meet out your Industry’s requirements?

Ans. Very strong domain knowledge, high energy and passion.

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Q Will GST be a game changer? What are your views on GST?

Ans. GST will be one of the biggest modes towards easing of doing business. It would bring a simple tax structure instead of very complex and multiple taxation system.

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Q What are the major challenges in implementation of Ind AS by the corporate entities? As the head of finance, how will you ensure the successful implementation of the new standards?

Ans. There are several changes in IndAS than previous gaap in the areas likeFinancial Instruments, Consolidation, Revenue recognition, Employees benefits, Segment disclosure etc. which are going to have major impact on the Financials & profitability reporting of the companies. The Standard on financial instruments is going to apply in India before the global adoption (global adoption is from 1.1.18). This is going to have major impact on Banking and Financial services companies. Revenue recognition will change due to EIR (Effective interest rate) Model to be adopted by NBFCs, HFCs & Banks.

Companies may have hit their P&L due to fair value methodology to be followed for ESOPs.

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Q What is your Industry’s reaction on Corporate Social Responsibilities?

Ans. I see CSR as a welcome change. It is definitely one of the most important responsibilities for the industry to work towards financial inclusion.

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Q What are your expectations from an Auditor while performing his/her duties and responsibilities?

Ans. We expect the following:

1. Knowledge sharing on the new standards and judgment over selection of accounting policies
2. Control audits on the changed environment.
3. Finallyassist the companies for smooth transition to the new norms.

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Q To what extent CA professionals serves as efficient Strategic Thoughtful in an organization?

Ans. Every CA professional has to be very strong on strategic orientation as well as excellent in execution. In our group, out of seven business CEOs five are CAs, and you can take a hint from this that how important are CAs in playing the role as  Strategic Thinkers.

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Q You would be having hectic schedules throughout. How do you maintain a life-work balance?

Ans. It is a question of setting very clear priorities and also a mind-set.  If we have a very strong team and can empower them, then it becomes definitely easier.

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Q How do the skills acquired during the articleship help you enhance your own professional values?

Ans. During the period of Articleship there were lot of practical learning like keeping proper accounting process, internal controls and closing of books etc. It also helped me in practicing what we learnt in theories.

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Q The job of a CFO in a company is to “increase company profits and boost corporate value”- How do you see this?

Ans. The job of Chief Financial Officer is becoming critical day by day. We as a Research / Financial company feel that effective capital allocation is a hallmark of successful and sustainable wealth creation by the company. Hence the CFO is one of the strong pillars in the organizational structure.

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Q Finally, what message you would like to give to the budding CA professionals?

Ans. Become a life time student in a fast and dynamic VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) World. You should keep on sharpening your knowledge and have an eager to learn new skills. You should also be very clear as to exactly how you want to build your carrier. Perseverance and Patience are important virtue for Success.