How Chartered Accountants Can Excel in Practice and Jobs Through Effective Work Management
This article enumerates few points which, if you cultivate in your daily work of CA Practice or Job, it will definitely help you to to complete the tasks assigned to you in a time bound manner along with qualitative results.
1. The first and probably the most important traits of a proven track record and seasoned Professional, is that the tasks accomplished by him meets the expectations of both his immediate Superiors and the other departments who are relying on the data/statements prepared and submitted by him. Example: Human Resource Department work in close coordination with the Accounts Department for salary calculation, credit of salary in Employees account, Tax Deduction at Source from salary, Provident Fund calculation and payment thereof to the government. Similarly, Marketing department also relies heavily on the data/information given by the Accounts Team in respect of sales, commission to Managers, Sales – segment wise, GST component etc.
It therefore implies that the data/information/statements given from the desk of a Finance Manager (or other professional) is double checked before submitting and any shortcomings/loopholes/lacunae are rectified then and there itself so that the quality of work is enhanced and not hampered as the users of the data rely on these crucial information which are important for various decision making processes in Accounts Department as well as other departments.
2. It is imperative that the Chartered Accountant maintains a diary, book form or in Excel, to note down the various tasks, prioritization is requiredas per the importance of the work (example – Work given by Director, Work given by HR Department, Work of Statutory Compliance, Work of External Consultants, Routine work etc.) because nobody can keep such voluminous data in memory, and if it is not written down, it may escape the attention of the Manager and may cost heavily. Also, the work of Statutory Compliance such as due dates of Return filing, complying with notices etc. are prominent and may result in penalty, interest which can be avoided if proper prior planning is done. It is said that “Plan your work and work according to the Plan, If you fail to Plan, you are Planning to fail.”
3. In case of Audit work, make a team of the audit staff and plan the work to be done in a time bound manner, who will do which work and at what time frame, everything should be well defined in advance. Meetings should be conducted at reasonable frequency to review the progress of the work, discuss the queries, sorting out the audit issues with the client. Audit of large entities is a herculean task, so proper planning is required at every stage, to complete the work within the set deadlines. It is also important to assess the knowledge and capability of the staff deployed for the audit so that quality of audit work is enhanced. If required, training sessions should be conducted so that staff are acquainted with the skills and developments in the field. In addition to above, Audit Documentation should be done meticulously, as it is an essential part of auditand it will be helpful if there is any future litigation or charge of negligence on the auditor.
4. In case of Statutory Compliance, which is of prime importance, software etc. required should be purchased and work started well in advance so that last moment problems, such as problem in the Website. technical glitches should not delay the submission of the returns i.e. there should be at least 4-5 days margin for such future contingencies.
It is also important to educate the client on certain main aspects of the business/finance department and tax implications which will enable him to be aware about the correct financial situation of his business and contribution of the CA towards his company and also he takes informed decisions with regards to Strategic Direction of the business.
5. Sometimes, the immediate Superior/Director goes out of station for some work, or is on holiday. In such cases, instructions should be taken in advance for the work to be done, or Documents or cheque signed, so that important work is not affected and the work goes on smoothly without obstructing the day to day functioning of the Company/Firm.
6. It should be ensured that there is proper internal control and internal checks in the company, and it is functioning in the effective and efficient manner so that the errors and frauds are avoided. Bank work should be done in the early hours of the day and a working capital requirement strategy should be framed with the Director/Manager in the meeting, so that there is clarity of the funds to be expensed out and funds to be received in the near future.
The job of a Chartered Accountant is crucial from this aspect as various Management decisions are taken based on the Management Reports prepared and submitted by him. So it is important that the CA should be well versed with numbers with ability to draw useful inferences/conclusions from the company data. For this he should possess sound judgement and ability to distinguish between what is substantial (important) and what is not of much relevance. Business acumen will help the CA to examine the financial conditions of the company thoroughly and point out the problems areas and the remedial measures. All these skills develop in a professional over a period of time as he becomes senior in the field having gone through financial transactions of many companies, updating and honing the skills/knowledge by practical real life examples, reading books and attending seminars.
7. There are certain activities which are of outsourced nature such as Company Law Compliance, Income Tax and GST Compliance, Labour Law Compliance, Statutory Audit, Internal Audit etc. These entities represent us before the Government and we must ensure that the data supplied or given to them are correct, and also the data should be submitted to them without any delay, because they need time to prepare the case to represent us in front of tax authorities and court of law. The Accounts Manager is in a better position to explain various transactions to the consultants, because he is very well conversant with accounting package and also due to his work experience within that company, he is aware of the nature and quantum of transactions. It is quite evident that the in-house accountant is very helpful to the External consultants in their work of representing the company before various tax authorities and its a win win situation for company and consultant. Maintaining vouchers, preserving bills, challans and other supporting documents is mandatory as per the Companies Act, Income Tax Act and various other lawsas it will be helpful when there is any litigation or assessment proceedings and the Government Officer demands the books of accounts and other records.
8. We ought to follow certain other points for better performance such as : team spirit, working towards the goal of the company, loyalty, integrity, discipline, hard work, measuring the pros and cons before decision making, These qualities/traits are very much essential, but it is developed over a period of time, as one gathers experience and climbs the ladder of success in the Organization. It is seen that a Chartered Accountant, nowadays is not confined to Compliance work which is traditional practice area, but he is involved in other important areas of practice such as Forensic Audit, Management Consultancy, Valuation services, Investment Banking, Information Systems Audit etc.
Conclusion: The CA Profession ambit has widened in the recent past due to various new areas of practice and there is no lack of opportunities for a CA whether he goes for job in Industry or starts his own practice. However, Accounting, Finance and Tax Field is very dynamic as there are lot of knowledge updation required apart from being well versed in IT skills such as Spreadsheets, Artificial Intelligence etc. No matter how much development or amendments affect the profession, one fact is undeniable is that the basics of the various subjects such as Accountancy, Finance, Taxation, Costing etc remains the same, and if some problem occurs at a subsequent date, we have to go back to the basics and troubleshoot the same. Thus, a CA who works by following all the Standards/Guidance Notes issued by the ICAI, follows proper time management, fulfils commitments to various concerned parties, is attentive and alert in his work, delegates work appropriately and continuously updates his knowledge and skills will definitely shine in his work and will progress by leaps and bounds.
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