23 rd NOVEMBER 2008 - THE BEGINNING

The 1st Meeting of the CYP took place at the Elliot Park, Kolkata at 7 a.m. to initiate the discussions and brain-strorming session on the crystallizing of the structure of the forum. It was co-chaired by CA Vikas Jain, the Immediate Past Chairman of the EIRC of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a renowned Chartered Accountant from Kolkata, CA Vikas Baid. The discussions were initiated by the YP Sumit Dhanuka who gave a brief description of the complete initiative with its salient features and objectives. He expressed his views on the proactive role which the youth professionals have to play in this highly competitive globalised business environment. He also stressed upon the urgent need for the senior members of the various professions to come forward and show the young raw minds the right direction so that a strong foundation can be built up on which these young professionals can thrive and deliver their potential best so that they stand out in this competitive era. He elucidated on the importance of the ignition of entrepreneurship spirit among the youth professionals which would lead to building up of huge professional ventures. He also expresses his views on the growing importance of the networking among the fellow professionals in this modern era where there is cross-border integration of economies and coming together of the geographies on one single platform. He left the floor open for the raw professional minds and their mature professional counterparts to take forward the discussion on the initiative and such other allied issues.
CA Vikas Baid then began his deliberations relating his personal professional experiences to the demands and expectations of modern day society from the professionals. He laid emphasis on the job experience which is worthwhile in building up successful careers. He also stressed upon the importance of voracious reading and the role played by the personal motivation and the personal efforts in getting an insight into the subject one wants to specialize in. Taking instances from personal experiences, he brought out as to how the youth professionals are in the dark in their initial years and how the last one year of training would go a long way in shaping up their professional careers. The youth professionals were able to relate themselves to the situations which Mr. Baid put before them and there were a lot of lessons to be taken from such instances.
After the vivid practical experiences laid down by CA Vikas Baid, Mr. Vikas Jain had begun his deliberations by asking the youth professionals to individually express their views as a response to the deliberations by Mr. Sumit Dhanuka and Mr. Vikas Baid. The youth professionals echoed the views expressed by Mr. Baid and expressed the importance of the last year of training in the long term professional success. Each one was enthused at the prospect of the coming up of the group and taking it forward to rising heights. YP Prakash highlighted on the repetitive nature of work in the years of articleship and the need for broadening the scope of the precious years of articleship. YP Rahul Agarwal expressed the need of enhancement of the communication skills among the Chartered Accountants to bring them at par with the MBAs. In response, CA Vikas Jain brought to light the importance of participation in the various events organized by the ICAI and the role of the personal initiative in harnessing such skills. Mr. Saket Agarwal expressed his views on the importance of articleship and the value addition which it makes in building up the foundation of an individual as a professional. YP Adarsh Nahata enquired on the various other courses which the youth professionals should pursue which would enable them to add value to the industries in which they would go ahead to become partners in growth. CA Vikas Jain enlightened the group on the various post qualification courses on various specialized subjects which could be opted for the youth professionals to enhance their knowledge and get an insight into the various knowledge based subjects. CA Vikas Baid also stressed on how the internet can be productively used to handle issues pertaining to various theoretical subjects. For example, a thorough reading of the buyback documents, the prospectus and such other documents from the websites of the Stock Exchanges and relating them to the statutory requirements laid down in the various securities legislations would give a holistic view and a complete insight into the implementation of the law. He emphasized on the importance of personal dedicated efforts in building up successful professionals on a sustainable basis.
Finally, the businessman’s perspective was brought to light by Mr. Madan Jhawar, representing the Oscar group. He stressed upon the how the proactive attitude among the youth professionals in their years of articleship/internship could go a long way in building up successful Chartered Accountants. He highlighted on the expectations of the industry from the upcoming professionals and also threw light on the how the presentation and communication skills among the youth professionals have a significant contribution in the overall service delivery made by the professional.
The concluding remarks were made by YP Sumit Kr. Dhanuka wherein he stated how such knowledge sharing sessions among the youth and the experienced professionals could go a long way in bringing forth varied thought-provoking ideas and facts which would be in the interest of one and all. He also mentioned how the integration of such ideas at the periodical meets would enable building up of strong bondages across professional circles and the professionals an opportunity to interact and build up healthy networks. It would strengthen professional tie-ups and enable professionals to leverage the knowledge and experience of their fellow professionals. He urged the fellow youth professionals to take this message forward among the large group of committed youth professionals so that a cohesive team of professionals can meet together regularly to share new and innovative ideas of professional importance and in the process, enable the professional fraternity to scale new heights making them stand out in the society with their heads held high.