The Indian Union Cabinet has approved the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Arab Emirates (UAE) which envisages the training of chartered accountants in order to strengthen the accounting, financial and audit knowledge base within the Gulf nation.
Briefing the reporters late last night on the decisions taken by the Cabinet, Indian Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley said the MoU also encourages the institutional level exchange of faculty and the students between the two countries.
The Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its ex-post facto approval for the MoU signed in 2011 and also the renewal of MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), United Arab Emirates.
As per the pact, the ICAI will provide technical assistance to HCT by reviewing the current curriculum of HCT related to accounting and finance. It will also recommend introduction of new and revised courses and modules that will facilitate UAE students to write ICAI's technical professional Examination with aim to acquire membership of ICAI.
The ICAI will provide technical assistance in holding its professional examination for qualified HCT students. It will also collaborate to provide seminars and workshops for the HCT students and faculty and provide specialised relevant adjunct faculty on a mutually agreeable basis.
The Institute will run certification courses for the HCT students, and provide facilities to hold ICAI's professional and technical exams. Both, the HCT and the ICAI, will encourage faculty and student exchange programmes. They will also collaborate to hold professional development and technical events, seminars and conferences at various HCT's colleges in UAE. The HCT will provide venue for such events and will encourage its students and faculty member to attend these events.
HCT and ICAI will collaborate to offer short professional courses in the domain of accounting, finance and audit in UAE via HCT's Centre of Excellence for applied Research and Training (CERT). The proposal seeks to advance the goals on equity, public accountability and innovation, Jaitley said.
The ICAI is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament of India i.e. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, to regulate the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India. The Higher Colleges of Technology of UAE is a community of more than 23,000 students and 2,000 staff based on 17 modern, technology-enhanced campuses in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Fujairah, Madinat Zayed, Ras Al Khaimah, Ruwais and Sharjah, making it the largest higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). HCT is dedicated to the “delivery of technical and professional programs of the highest quality to the students within context of sincere respect for all beliefs and values" and has the vision to be an internationally recognised and accredited provider of technical and professional tertiary education.
The ICAI has considered renewal of the MoU between ICAI and HCT, UAE to work together in strengthening the accounting, financial and audit knowledge base within UAE through this MoU. It was signed on 4 January, 2011 for a period of 5 years.
The UAE is home to an Indian expatriate community of more than 2.6 million – the largest expatriate community in the Gulf. About 15 per cent are qualified professionals followed by 20 per cent white-collar non-professionals such as clerical staff, shop assistants, salesmen, and accountants. The remaining 65 per cent are blue-collar workers. There is a sizeable business community from India. The Indian community has played a major role in the economic development of the UAE. The annual remittances made by the Indians in UAE are as high as USD15 billion by the last count.
