New Delhi, Sept 28 (KNN) To promote of export of accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services from SEZs and EOUs the Export Promotion Council of EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) signed an MOU with the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) on 27th September in the ICAI House, Delhi During the inaugural session of   Global Week on “Promoting Accounting & Finance Services Globally”.

Bhuvanesh Seth, Vice Chairman, EPCES and CA Shri Atul Gupta, President, ICAI signed the MOU in the presence of Shri Alok Chaturvedi (IAS retd), Director General, EPCES and Shri Hans Raj Chugh, Chairman of the Committee for Development of International Trade, Services & WTO.

On this occasion, Bhuvanesh Seth stated that SEZs and EOUs contribute one-third of exports from India covering many sectors and services. There are about 240 operational SEZs with over 5500 operating units and about 2000 EOUs. With the global presence of ICAI and technical expertise of its members, this MOU will be mutually beneficial for the members of the EPCES and ICAI and will help in the export of accountancy services from SEZs and EOUs.

Atul Gupta stated that the Institute has a global footprint with 36 chapters and presence in 53 cities of the world. The members are in the decision making position as CEO and CFO and help the organization in their global investment decisions. Through this MoU, we can tap their knowledge of best practices and facilities in our SEZs and EOUs to increase investment in India and export of CA services from India, he added.    

Alok V Chaturvedi stated that at present export of financial and accountancy services, though growing, is minuscule at just 3% of total services exports. From SEZs, there was an export of accounting services worth US$ 680 million. However, there is a huge global market of US$ 574 billion which needs to be exploited by India.

In this context, this MOU will enable both the institutions to identify India’s key strengths in terms of availability of skilled accountants & workforce, latest accounting & finance software, low cost of labour & high security to the clients and make a focused approach in taking advantages of global opportunities, he added.