CA practices up as demand, economy surge

The services of certified chartered accountants (CA) are now in high demand, fueled by Bangladesh’s economic growth and the need for companies to remain compliant with regulatory authorities.

A very good indication of the sector getting a lot of tailwind is the rising number of CAs with Certificates of Practice (CoP). According to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), around 30 CAs received CoP in 2020, and the number was only 35 in 2021.

However, the ICAB issued around 50 CoPs to young professionals in just the first nine months of 2022, and the institute is optimistic that the figure would hit 90 by the end of this year as many applications are currently being processed, insiders told The Business Post.

There are currently around 2,200 certified CAs in Bangladesh. Among them, 412 are working as chartered accountants, while the rest are employed at different local and multinational companies.

ICAB firmly believes that the trend of more CAs working as professionals in the country would positively impact Bangladesh’s overall economic development, and help bring in more investments as well. The institute is actively working to strengthen the expertise of its members.

Providing more details, ICAB President Md Shahadat Hossain said, “With the growing economy, the scope of work for CAs has expanded significantly. Over the years, ICAB has offered training programmes, workshops and seminars to its members in a bid to enhance their acumen.

“Along with the member numbers, we are focusing on bettering the work environment and quality of audits. The young chartered accountants are quite interested in going into practice. They have the eagerness to learn and groom themselves with the help of technology.”

Bangladesh’s economy will certainly benefit from CA services, Hossain added.

Mohammad Redwanur Rahman, who recently received a certificate to practice (CoP), said, “I decided to practice professionally because this service provides a big opportunity to contribute to the economy.

“This profession is undergoing a transition period. There is a vacuum as the senior practitioners grow older. The young chartered accountants are stepping in to fill up the gap.”

Shamima Akhter, head of corporate affairs at Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, said, “Auditing is part of regulation, and we hire only the reputed firms to do the job. This helps us keep the company’s reputation up. Chartered accountants protect our business and help us to grow.”

What’re the criteria for CoP?

Those who want to practice professionally as a CA must fulfill a number of criteria. A person seeking certification requires two years of post-qualification experience either in a private or government service, and has to engage in professional learning through participating in national and international seminars, symposiums, trainings and workshops.

The ICAB scrutinises overall information of CAs who applied for CoP, and then picks only the qualified ones.