Chennai: The Institute of Cost Accountants of India has given an undertaking before the Madras high court that it would consider changing its nomenclature as ICOAI and will report the compliance to the court after its meeting to be held in the second week of August.
The counsel for the Institute gave the undertaking before Justice M. Duraiswamy when a petition filed by V. Venkata Siva Kumar, a charted accountant, which sought to restrain the Institute of Cost Accountants of India from using the Acronym "ICAI" (Institute of Charted Accountants of India) came up for hearing on July 13.
Recording the undertaking, the judge posted to August 21, further hearing of the case. According to petitioner, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India with a malafide and fraudulent intention to usurp the Goodwill of Institute of Charted Accountants of India built over a period of 70 years of world class recognised performance, without any legal sanction started representing to the stake holders as ICAI by using the Acronym ICAI (however communicates with the regulator (Union of India) using the acronym ICOAI) on its websites and in all their communications with the media, knowing fully well that it was illegal and unethical and continuing the same without any remorse in spite of several representations made by the ICAI.
The Institute of Charted Accountants of India with the acronym ICAI achieved excellence and recognised all over the world. The students who were qualified as Charted Accountants can practice or go to the industry with ever increasing demand with a minimum annual remuneration of Rs 12 lakh going up to Rs 60 lakh for a freshly qualified member, because of the training skills imparted during the course.
Since the entire curriculum of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India was without any practical training, the qualification was not much sought after by the stakeholders and they were in no way near to the members of ICAI, he added.
