Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The demand for Indian Chartered Accountants (CAs) in foreign countries has been rising by 5%-10% annually over the past couple of years, said Hans Raj Chugh, Chairman of the Board of Studies (Academic) of the ICAI.

Indian CAs are working in countries across the world, right from the Middle East to Africa, Europe, the US, and Australia, he added.

Speaking to Free Press on the sidelines of the Student National Conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the city on Sunday, Chugh said that the body has chapters or representative offices in 85 cities across 47 countries.

He said that a large number of Indian CAs are working overseas. Around 1.2 lakh CAs are working for foreign clients through Global Facilitation Centres located in India. “They are mainly handling assignments related to accounting and filing of income tax return,” he said, adding that in India, CAs are in demand in sectors such as auditing, taxation, and banking. “Both Indian and multinational corporations employ CAs,” he said.

Chugh emphasised that the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) would not shrink the job market. “When computers came, it was widely believed that they would push the unemployment rates up. But did they? In fact, the IT sector has created millions of jobs,” he said.

He said that AI would make routine work faster and more accurate, but it can’t and won’t replace humans. “The demand for human resources will always be there,” he said. Chugh said that the CA course has been divided into two parts and has been made future-ready. “The enrolments are rising at the rate of around 15% per year,” he said.

I-T reforms pro-people

Chairman, Committee on Commercial Laws, Abhay Chhajed, said that the Government of India’s decision to amend the Income Tax Act and to raise the minimum income for taxation would benefit the common man and the country both.

Raising the income limit would leave more money in the hands of the people, boost demand, and give the economy a much-needed upward push.

“The Act was drafted in 1960, and since then, so many amendments have added dozens of sections and subsections to it, making it complicated,” he said.