India as outsourcing hub facing tough challenges

ICAI Abu Dhabi Chapter hosted a professional development event in Abu Dhabi at the Indian Social Centre which was attended by a 130 plus strong audience.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI Abu Dhabi Chapter, recently held a professional development event in Abu Dhabi at the Indian Social Centre, Mina, Abu Dhabi, which was attended by a 130 plus strong audience. The topics for the event were “Outsourcing — India’s Competitive Edge” and IFRS 10 — Economic reality and legal myth. The chairman of the Chapter, Padmanabha Acharya mentioned that South East Asia, South America and Eastern Europe have over the years been gaining ground on outsourced services. India for instance has six cities out of the top 10 outsourcing destinations in the world. Bangalore is by far the top spot for outsourced destinations in the world. Acharya mentioned that language and IT skillsets have played a large role in the development of these destinations.

Manoj Fadnis vice-president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India addressed the gathering. Fadnis noted that ICAI is the second largest accounting body in the World. Fadnis noted key priorities of ICAI in 2014 and mentioned that Women Empowerment is a key priority for the Insititute. Fadnis also spoke about the global recognition of the ICAI qualification and reciprocal recognition by major accounting institutions across the world.

The first speaker was Rajiv Sharma, founder promoter at Osource India Pvt Ltd. He is a first generation entrepreneur with over 24 years of experience in the Consulting, IT and outsourcing industry and he enlightened the gathering and spoke extensively on “Outsourcing — India’s Competitive Edge”. He stated that India has a great talent pool and provided cost effective outsourcing solutions for the clients across the globe. Sharma mentioned that Manila and the far east have been competing with India and have significantly increased their market share as far as the voice outsourcing services were concerned. Several Indian outsourcing operators have expanded their base to Philippines to take advantage of the shift in the demand for these services. Rajiv noted that 13 cities in India are in the top 100 outsourcing global destinations. Mumbai has moved from second position to third. Cost of out sourcing in India is $11.22 per day which is very competitive when compared to other jurisdictions.

James Ravi addressed the members of ICAI on the topic of IFRS 10. Ravi noted that “In the ever-evolving world of IFRS, the standards on consolidated financial statements have undergone various phases.” Ravi mentioned that IFRS 10 which deals with consolidated financial statements is a part of the pack of five standards which became effective from 1 January 2013. An investor determines whether it is a parent by assessing whether it controls one or more investees. An investor controls an investee when it is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the investee.

Rajiv Shah, vice-chairman of the chapter proposed the vote of thanks. The Abu Dhabi Chapter has been in existence for the past 30 years and currently comprises about 650 members. The chapter is actively involved in enhancing and updating the professional knowledge of its members through organising seminars under the Continuing Professional Education programme of the institute. Recently the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Chapters of ICAI have jointly won the “Best Overseas Chapter” Award for 2013 for the work undertaken by them in the areas of professional development, community services, membership and student services and their contribution to the growth of the accounting profession in the UAE.