If India Post is in the process of shifting from cash system of accounting to accrual system, they have the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to thank for. The accrual system of accounting is in conformity with global standards of accountancy and takes in to accounts assets and liabilities of an organisation and helps it come out with a balance sheet, noted K Raghu, president of the ICAI here on Sunday.

Interacting with the media after inaugurating the ICAI Bhawan of the Mangalore branch of Southern India Regional Council of the ICAI here, Raghu said the work of capacity building among officials of India Post for this accounting transition is on. Under the cash system, an organisation merely looks at revenue earned and expenditure incurred and does not give it a clearer picture of its financial standing, which the accrual system does.

Describing this as the ICAIs way of engaging with the government under its 2014-15 action plan, Raghu said ICAI is also supporting the union ministry of corporate affairs. "We will organise 1,000 investors awareness programme over the next one year," he said. This aims at helping the investors make the right kind of investments. A whole lot of people ending up losing their hard earned money through ill-informed investment decisions, he said.

The Institute is working closely with the Central Bureau of Investigation in the areas of forensic audit and fraud detection. "CBI personnel are being trained to carry out forensic audit and fraud detection," he said, adding the ICAI does not directly involve itself in this process. Asserting that its role is limited to imparting training, Raghu said panel of chartered accountants approved by ICAI is always on hand to help the CBI with various issues. (Times of India)