Businesses now have to report on the environmental, social, and governance efforts or ESG. ICAI with the help of the Sustainability Reporting Standards Board has been taking different initiatives for creating awareness regarding the ESG issues. Keeping in line with this, ICAI will be organizing a series of ESG Roundtables for the independent directors and the CFOs across different parts of the country. These Roundtables will focus on the knowledge areas on Sustainability/ESG pertinent from the viewpoint of the decision-makers.

ICAI will be organizing the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) in Mumbai from the 18^th to the 21^st of November. The theme is Building Trust, Enabling Sustainability. 6000 delegates from 135 countries are expected to join the conference.

ICAI has been working to draft the Framework for Social Audit and the Social Audit Standards on eligible activities for conducting social impact assessments. The Sustainability Reporting Standards Board of the ICAI plans to share the draft on all the 16 thematic areas with the SEBI.

The institute has also initiated the steps for developing a self-regulatory organization for registering the social auditors as defined by SEBI.

ICAI has set up the MSME Setu Programme where they will establish the link between ICAI and Prospective MSMEs.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between ICAI and the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE).

For motivating the members and students, ICAI launched a weekly online program namely Civil Services Orientation & mentorship Programme.

For developing the next generation of professionals, the institute has revised the Chartered Accountancy course.

ICAI has signed an MoU with the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir (DSEK), and the Directorate of School Education, Jammu (DSEJ).

With such initiatives, ICAI will be nurturing the accounting profession and improving and nurturing the accounting ecosystem.

Priyanka Dutta