Southern India Regional Council oF ICWAI, Chennai

About Southern India Regional Council oF ICWAI, Chennai

The Southern India Regional Council (SIRC) caters to the needs of students, members, industry and public at large hailing from the States of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Pondicherry.

The Regional Council Office is situated at Egmore, Chennai - 600 008 and operates through 24 Chapters and 26 CMA Support Centers situated across Southern India.

The Profession of Cost Accountancy is regulated by Special Act of Parliament namely, the Cost and Works Accountants Act 1959. With the passing of the act, “The Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India” came into being on 28th May 1959. “The Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India” is the only recognized statutory professional organization and licensing body in India specializing exclusively in the field of Cost and Management Accountancy. It has its national headquarters at Kolkata and Regional councils at New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. It has 94 chapters established throughout the country and 6 centres abroad.It gives me great pleasure to inform you that your Regional Council has organized a CFO Conclave on Tuesday the 12th January, 2010 at SIRC Premises wherein many Corporate Heads actively participated and presented their points of view in taking forward the Institute to newer heights.

In line with the decision taken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to celebrate “Corporate Week” from this year onwards during the 3rd week of December, with the maiden programme held throughout India, from 14 – 21 December 2009, SIRC spearheaded the celebrations in the Region, in which many Chapters partook with great interest and in an excellent manner. The details are given elsewhere in this Newsletter. Your Regional Council has also arranged for a Corporate Week Run in the Marina to create awareness amidst the youth, corporate and public at large. The Registrar of Companies, Tamil Nadu Circle, Chennai took part in the SIRC programme and distributed prizes to the meritorious students. The Chairman represented the Regional Council at the grand finale of the celebrations at Vignan Bhavan , New Delhi, whereat the Hon’ble President of India blessed the occasion with her gracious presence.

I am delighted to inform you that Hyderabad Chapter has added one more feather to its cap by the grand manner in which it organized the Regional Cost Convention on 4th and 5th December, 2009 at Katriya Hotels, Hyderabad. S/Shri J. Hari Narayan, Chairman – IRDA and A.R. Ansari, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Neyveli Lignite Corporation graced the occasion by participating in the Inaugural event and addressing the hall packed audience. A detailed report of the convention is presented in the cover pages.

To revere the memory of Shri S. Ganapathisubramanian, an illustrious member of our profession, the Fourth S. Ganapathisubramanian Memorial Lecture was organized at Chennai on 19th December, 2009. Dr. Raef Lawson, Vice President – Research and Professor-in-Residence, Institute of Management Accountants, USA delivered the memorial lecture on the topic ‘Best Practices in Cost and Profitability Systems’, which was well attended and highly appreciated with lot of interactions.

Through this column, I would like to congratulate the Thrissur Chapter of Cost Accountants for the excellent manner in which the All Kerala Cost Convention – 2009 was organised on Nov 20th & 21st 2009 at Hotel Ashoka Inn, Thrissur. The theme was very apt and the technical sessions executed were of high order.

The Regional Council, as part of the Professional Development Programme, conducted an In-house Training Programme on 13th and 14th November, 2009 for the Executives of the TAFE on the theme ‘Cost Control and Cost Reduction’. Shri R. Narayanan, Past Chairman – SIRC of ICWAI coordinated the entire event. Around 25 Executives from different departments of TAFE participated in the programme which was addressed by men of eminence.

A week long Modular Training Programme for the Final Students was held between 7th – 14th November, 2009 at Hotel Kanchi. The Programme was inaugurated by Mr. Behrang Seraj, Vice Consul, US Embassy, Chennai, which has given a right fillip to the programme. In a befitting manner the valedictory session was addressed by Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, FICCI, Chennai who has appreciated the commendable role played by the Regional Council in promoting the professional education in such a systematic and streamlined manner.

A Regional Practitioners’ Meet has been held at Hyderabad on 12th November, 2009 to discuss the ways and means for the growth of our profession. This meet has attended by S/Shri B.B. Goyal, Advisor (Cost), Cost Audit Branch, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, G.N. Venkataraman, President – ICWAI, V. Kalyanaraman – Past President, SAFA & ICWAI, D.V. Joshi, J.K. Puri – Past Presidents, ICWAI and other dignitaries.

As a part of propagating the mission of our profession in the young minds, your Regional Council is continuously organizing Career Counselling Programmes at different places and during this quarter, I had been to Coimbatore and Palani and addressed a large gathering of students.

Over all, this quarter evidenced many events with very good themes and your Regional Council could make its presence felt in an effective manner in the Print and Electronic media. Creation of good visibility goes a long way in enhancing the image of the Institute and your Regional Council is thriving to achieve this.