ICAI, CAG launch certificate courses for accountants of panchayats, municipal bodies

NEW DELHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (O/o C and AG) jointly launched the certificate courses for accountants of panchayats and municipal bodies. A total of four online courses have been launched and aspirants can enrol in only one course at a time.

Students who have passed Class 12 are 18 years old or above can apply for the courses. The candidates will have to pay a fee of Rs 590. The courses are available in 10 languages including Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Odiya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, and Telugu. Interested candidates can register for the courses through a dedicated platform at lba.icaiarf.org.in. ICAI informed that while the mode of learning is online, the exams are conducted offline.

The courses are as follows:

• Certificate course for accountants of panchayats (level 1 for gram panchayats and level 2 for zilla and block panchayats); and
• Certificate course for accountants of municipal bodies (level 1 for town panchayats and level 2 for municipal corporations and municipalities).

The Board for Local Bodies Accountants Certification (BLoAC) established under the aegis of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF) organizes the courses. The Committee on Public and Government Financial Management (CPGFM) of ICAI develops the course study material.

“The list of qualified candidates will be made available in the public domain so that these candidates can be engaged in the preparation of accounts by panchayats and municipal bodies, facilitating timely preparation of accounts and ensure timely audits, as mandated by the recommendations of the XVth Finance Commission,” the institute added.

These courses have been especially designed to upskill accountants working in the dynamic environment of panchayats and municipal bodies, as per the institute. Participants will gain expertise in book-keeping, and financial reporting specifically for the complexities of local governments.

“The curriculum for the courses has been modelled in such a manner that the qualified candidate not only gains essential skills required for local government accounting but also opens avenues for employment in the MSME sector at the local level in addition to panchayats and municipal bodies,” said an official statement from ICAI.