What you expect today at Counting Center at ICAI Bhawan BKC

All boxes are already opened and ballots are tallied. What happens today when the counting team.comes in is to begin with the last steps of pre distribution.

1. The invalid votes will be identified. You will really be disappointed to know many of our genius auditor brothers and sisters would not have even read the instructions and voted marking ballots with tick, or writing non allowed numbers or have signed the ballot paper asif  they doing initials on their audit working papers. Every invalid vote is a reminder of casual approach of many towards this democratic process.

2. By 11, After deductions of all the invalid votes, we know the final numbers to be counted and the quota.

3. By 12 noon, the distribution starts

4. By 2 pm, we should get the first count of the Central Council votes to each candidates.

For regional council expect the first count by 9 PM.

As per pundits : Who will get how many First Preference Votes in Central Council.

 Here is what poll pundits says on the range of likely first preference votes for Central Council elections. Your comments are welcome on this:

Prediction by Pundits..

Central Council battle seems to be open for 3 seats only

Out of total 11 existing central council members, only 6 are re-contesting.  All of them are comfortable. The only curiosity is Srinivas Joshi v/s. Mangesh Kinare.  Here is the list of current Central council members and those who are contesting. 

The 5 sitting members not in fray, their place can be replaced as follows:

• Gujarat will get one seat vacated by Jay Chhaira, and it is very difficult to be replaced by a Surat candidate, despite Surat polling 3520 votes, it is an extremely uphill task. Analyst says, out of these minimum 700 first preference votes will go out to out of Surat candidates and majority to Mumbai brothers. Though, Surat supporters still claims, Surat will deliver a seat. As mentioned in another post, Sunil Patodia will be the highest taker from outside. 
• This Gujarat seats should go to my Purushottam Khandelwal, this is what my assessment is. There are people have different views, arguing, Vishal Doshi can beg this, he will get seconds from Surat and Mumbai and some parts of Maharashtra. The biggest disadvantage Vishal has is he will start the race below Purushottam.  The best second preference votes he can add to his kity is from elimination of Hardik from Surat. Balkishan elimination will give votes his Mumbai brothers and also to Purushottam Now Vishal's only chance to concur is he remains above Purushottam after elimination of Surat candidates, which seems unlikely at this stage. Purushottam will start minimum 500 above Vishal that what trends looks like. So there are very bright chances, Purushottam takes the second Gujarat seat.
• Sunil Patodia and Priti Savla are two candidates who appears to make to council with certainty. 
• So these become 9 seats. So there are basically 2 seats for which rest of the contenders are competing. 
• Drushti Desai - Very good chance
• Vishnu Agarwal - Worked meticulously across the Maharashtra mufassil
• Piyush Chhajed - A focused campaigner and many industry voters
• Umesh Sharma - Will start at high, but will dry up on seconds
• Sushrut Chitale - Mangesh and Srinivas are very strong and that is a disadvantage
• Rakesh Rathi - Reliance on industry and big four has limitations beyond a number

185 out of 252 postal ballots are valid

 After an exercise of one and half day on postal ballots. Finally what you see is ONLY 185 votes for Central council and 182 votes for regional council are valid. Here are the various reasons for invalid votes:

• 17 not signed
• 18 came by mode which is not allowed
• 12 came from different country than the country of residence
• 5 signature not matched etc etc

Question: Is it worth the efforts? What's the way out?

Day called off. Today's Process in pictures

 

Postal Ballots and tallying of boxes and ballots will go on till tomorrow

Those waiting for counting updates, need to be patient for one more day. Postal ballots validation is done. Now the booth wise ballot counting and tallying their numbers with votes polled is being carried out. The votes polled in other regions too will be tallied. So nothing major going to happen today. 

Story of Three Ps

Here's the story of three Ps who were making the headlines during the entire election campaign for the ICAI - for the central council in WIRC. These three candidates are rising stars as well as very popular leaders. I think all three of them should make it through this election to the finals in Delhi.

Patodia Sunil:

While the election campaign was ongoing, the extensive campaign of the past Chairman of WIRC was the talk of the town. Sunil has a large following across the region supported by his professional network. Patodia's campaigning in S

urat was extensive to the point that many of my friends in Surat claim he was the third local candidate from Surat after Balkishan and Hardik. Among others, he is predicted to get the highest number of votes from Surat, after two local candidates. Mumbaikars who used to heavily rely on Surat votes will be seriously impacted by his candidature. As a result, he is expected to become the first new member of the council.

Purushottam Khandelwal:

Almost immediately after the election results last year, he started his campaign.During the past year, he has visited every CA office in Ahmedabad.. His passion for this election is evident, as is the hard work he has put in. The personal connections he has with members are impressive. He knows every single person he has met by name, which is surprising to people. He has put into this campaign an incredible amount of effort compared to last time. People on the ground expect it to translate into votes. His influence has spread to Saurashtra, and he is almost in charge of north Gujarat.  As a result of his extensive tour of Maharashtra, he should get some second, third, and fourth preferences, which he so desperately needed last time. The second preference he gets from Surat and Vadodara will play a significant role in his ranking ascension. In the race to fill the second Gujarat seat after Aniket Talati, he is considered a strong contender.

Priti Savla:

Priti Savla served WIRC as a chair person for the year 2019-20. She is the strong contender and seems to be the first among two ladies contesting the central council from winnability perspective. Very strong Kachhi support base and the wide appeal across Mumbai and Thane, from where she comes makes her formidable candidate. In my opinion she hold a wild card. She may not start with a very high ranking at first preference, but she will make to council with continuously moving up the ladder of rankings with every elimination.  

All the best to Three Ps of the profession.

ICAI Elections 2021 : What to watch out for in Western Region Trends.. by Arun Giri

Elections are about 'conventional wisdoms', which hold true like theorems most times... but it is the exceptions that prove the rule. Which is what makes this round of ICAI elections a wee bit tricky to call/predict. Yet, as an election analyst, i can't resist the urge to do some forecasting... old die habits die hard... so here we go!

1. 'Dark Horse':

   

Mr. Umesh Sharma ran a door to door campaign that was straight from Ashok Chandak/Jaydeep Shah playbook. His campaign has on the surface, resonated with the voters.. the question is - Can Nagpur, Nashik & his home town Aurangabad deliver 1500 first preferences to him? If yes, he could be on track for 2800+ 1st pref. votes... which would keep him in the hunt for later stages. Anything below that and i would rate his chances 'dim'. Some of my friends believe Umesh could be the next Parag Raval or Zulfesh Shah... both started exceptionally strong in first preference counts, only to see their second preferences baskets empty... both went on to lose. 

  

My hunch - if Umesh is at 2800 1st pref votes, he may put up  a much better show than Parag or Zulfesh in second preferences. 

2. 'Wild Card' :

    

Remember tennis legend Boris Becker? As a 17 year old youngster, he needed a wild card to enter the main round of Wimbledon in 1985.. he went on to win the Championship.. the first wild card entry to do so!! This year's wild card is Mr. Piyush Chhajed.. he ran a campaign that may not have caught a lot of attention but my own sense is - if there is a big, big upset brewing it may come from the son of former ICAI President Late Shri S.P. Chhajed. He has picked up far more votes than most think... question is - can Piyush get to 2500+ 1st pref. votes? Not an easy call... but i surely see him at over 2000.  Could i be wrong? Ofcourse yes... i will still take this bet.

3. 'Friendly Fire' :

    

US & UK are natural allies, yet once in a while, they keep firing at each other in third country territory.. mostly on account of mistaken identity. Mr. Vishnu Agarwal's candidature has meant something similar for sitting Council member Mr. Dhiraj Khandelwal who is gunning for a third consecutive term. No one believes that both can win... no one believes that Dhiraj will bite the dust... which is why Vishnu should not lose hope. Can the former WIRC Chairman pull off a rabbit from the hat ? Ofcourse yes... chances - Unlikely. Here the odds favour Dhiraj... 

4. Battle of 'Deccan' :

    

There is a mini-election within the election... its players - Mr. Mangesh Kinare, Mr. Sushrut Chitale, Mr. C.V Chitale & Mr. Shriniwas Joshi. Conventional wisdom is - Joshi is in trouble due to a fierce campaign run by Mangesh ( who lost by 3 votes last time round ), popularity of Sushrut among younger voters and Mrs. Priti Savla's inroads on his home turf - Mulund/Ghatkopar. OF these 4, only 2 can make it... the only certainty - among Mangesh, Sushrut & Joshi, one will likely start weak... that elimination will tell us a lot... Can Pune lose its seat and Mangesh, Joshi both get in ? Given the low turnout in Pune, not an entirely implausible scenario... as of now, odds favour re-election of Mr. C.V. Chitale. 

   

In 2003 Central Council elections, which was the third term of former ICAI President Mr. Kamlesh VIkamsey, he faced his toughest test... with 3 sitting WIRC Chairmen contesting - Vipul Choksi, Mitil Chokshi & Atul Bheda. Conventional wisdom was that Kamlesh bhai would scrape through when 2 of them were eliminated... the final result - Mr. Vikamsey almost secured quota in first round! All the 3 Chairmen lost... Can Joshi, going for his final term, pull off a stunner? Chances - 50-50.

5. Can History be created with 2 Women winning?

   

The possibility of both the ladies from Mumbai, Ms Drushti Desai & Ms. Priti Savla winning ? More than 50%... both need over 2500 first preference votes.. my hunch is - one of them will be close to or over 3000... If both make it, will be the first time two women from any region will make it to Central Council! Sure, a proud moment.. 

6. Other Factors to Watch:

• Second seat from Gujarat, will it be Purushottam Khandelwal (Ahmedabad) or Vishal Doshi ( Baroda) ... this one is a toss-up... 
• Will Mr. Aniket Talati secure 4000 first preference votes? That'll be a record...
• Will a sitting Council member lose? Conventional Wisdom says no, but keep an eye on the first count... there might be some surprises. 

Keep your seat belts on... this F1 race promises to be as exciting as the real one we witnessed over the weekend! We shall be back with more updates as counting starts in a few hours... 

ICAI Election Counting Process

Who is winning WIRC?

Would you like to share your views on the WIRC candidates? 

• Are all current WIRC members safe, and will they return to BKC? 
• WIRC is down by one seat, only 21, so quota is going to increase, so who will be affected by this? Mumbaikars or outside Mumbai candidates?
• Which candidate will get the most votes for 1st preference?

Let us know what you think in the comment section below:

ICAI Elections 2021 - Results EP-1

 

Who is winning ICAI Elections?

After the ICAI regional council and central council elections, there is an anxious waiting period for results. A long, tiresome wait for the results is boring and intolerable. So let us spend time checking your psephology skills.. We are currently focusing our attention on the western region. Please tell us who you think wins the Central Council election and Regional council election.

So we take the first question and you can answer it in the comments. Feel free to be anonymous if you don't want to reveal yourself. 

Who do you think will receive the most first preference votes in the Western Region Central Council and how much (an estimated number)?

More questions follows. 

CA Exams rescheduled

Looking current situation CA Exam is rescheduled:

CA inter and final exams will from 21st Nov . CA foundation will be from 8th Dec 2020.

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EXTENSION OF LAST DATE OF MEF 2020-21

As you are aware that the Multipurpose Empanelment Form for the year 2020-21 is live at https://meficai.org. Considering the various requests and challenges being faced by the Members of ICAI due to Covid-19, it has been decided by Professional Development Committee to extend the last date for submission of online Multipurpose Empanelment Form along with the Declaration for the year 2020-21. It is hereby informed that last date is extended from 12th October 2020 to 23rd October 2020. 

We wish to further inform that while submission of Financial Documents, there is no requirement for submitting the Financial Statements i.e. Balance Sheets and Income & Expenditure Account for the applicants who have opted for the Presumptive Taxation Scheme under Section 44ADA of Income Tax Act, 1961 and have filed their ITR accordingly for the financial year 2018-19. The option in this regard has been included in the Financial Documents Tab in MEF for the members to select.     

Members may refer the "Advisory” while filling Multipurpose Empanelment Form 2020-21.  

The MEF Applicants can write us on the Complaint Module of MEF (available at https://app.meficai.org/complaints) or at mefpdc@icai.in for any clarification, if required. 

Foundation CA exam from 19th Nov. to 25th Nov

1. Foundation CA exam will be held from 19th Nov. to 25th Nov 

2.Opt out scheme with due credit for students suffering with COVID-19 or falling under the containment zone will be announced soon. 

3.Due to assembly elections in Bihar and by poll elections in some constituencies that exam of that state will be on 19/21/23/25 Nov . 

More details pls see the notification 

icai.org/post/important

The Multi-Purpose Empanelment Form 2020

The Multi-Purpose Empanelment Form (MEF) for 2020-21 is now available.

You can register for the same at https://meficai.org/

The Last date for registration is 12th October, 2020.

Help to CAs hospitalized for Corona by Institute

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

July 26, 2020

Important Announcement

COVID-19 (CABF)

The Managing Committee of the Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund (CABF) ICAI has considered the difficulties being faced by Members in the time of pandemic and has decided to grant Medical Financial Assistance to the Members and their dependents suffering from CORONA.

This help is going to be available to the Members and their dependents who are in distress and need financial assistance for treatment of Corona disease. To avail this help members/dependents may file request in prescribed Application Form-cum-Undertaking hosted on the website of the ICAI at the CABF Portal at the link https://cabf.icai.org/ . The application is to be accompanied with the CORONA positive report and is available only for the cases of hospitalization.

The financial assistance will be up to INR 1.5 Lakhs and will be returnable to CABF in full, if it is not utilized for treatment of CORONA.

For detailed information please mail to covidassistance@icai.in.

Member Secretary

Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund

M&C-MSS Directorate

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

ICAI Bhawan

Plot No. A-29, Sector-62 NOIDA

Phone - 0120-3045997/98

SC hearing about ICAI Exams May 2020

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) today sought time from the Supreme Court to issue fresh guidelines regarding the present cycle of this year's CA exams.

During today's hearing, the Court observed that the ICAI should consider permitting the students to opt out of the exams till the last day, as the situation around COVID-19 is dynamic and not static (Anubha Shrivasta Sahai v. ICAI).

"The change of centre should not be be freezed but should be open for all till the end. Till the last week...You need to be flexible, you cannot be rigid."

Supreme Court

"You have to make a provision then that if a student passes the exam in November, you have to say that it means they have passed the exam in July."

Supreme Court

Empanelment Notice Bank of India

Bank of India.

Empanelment Notice for Concurrent / Revenue Auditor

Bank of India invites online application from eligible CA firms as Concurrent and 

Revenue Auditors for empanelment. For more details kindly visit Bank of India’s official 

Website www.bankofindia.co.in under section Online Services. Last date for 

submission of application is 22nd June, 2020.

https://bankofindia.co.in/CAFirmApplication/CAOnlineApp

ICAI hosted the draft MEF Panel for 2019-2020

ICAI hosted the draft MEF Panel for 2019-2020 . Pls login https://app.meficai.org/draftPanel and check ur firm status. 

Dhiraj Khandelwal