‘AI can never replace CA’, India will need around 5 million CAs by 2050, says ICAI chief

Given the rapid growth of the Indian economy, the country will require nearly 5 million CAs by 2050, said Charanjot Singh Nanda, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), during an interaction with the media. Currently, there are approximately 4.85 lakh (485,000) chartered accountants (CAs) in India.

A two-day national conference titled ‘VEDA Excellence’ was organised by CPE-ICAI at Vadodara. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, ICAI president Nanda noted that while AI is proving helpful for CAs, a special AI course has been launched for them. ICAI has also developed an exclusive AI platform to assist CAs, which saves them time. “Still”, he said, “AI will never be able to replace a CA.” 

The ICAI has developed a specialised AI platform tailored to CAs, which helps them save 70–80% of their time in certain tasks such as responding to notices.

Nanda said, “A significantly higher number of students are now pursuing CA studies, and exam results are also improving. However, the institute does not relax its answer sheet evaluation criteria just to boost pass rates. ICAI ensures utmost diligence in conducting exams, and even the Supreme Court has stated that other academic institutions should learn from ICAI’s examination procedures.”

He emphasised that students who earn the CA degree undoubtedly receive good job opportunities, but even those who do not clear the final exams are still able to secure high-paying jobs based on their internship experience and knowledge gained during CA studies.

He also stated that ICAI operates with a zero-corruption policy. If any complaints are received against a CA, strict action is taken. If the complaint is found to be valid, disciplinary measures may range from financial penalties to suspension of the CA’s practice license. For this, a disciplinary committee has been formed, and last year alone, around 344 complaints were received and are under investigation.

Recently, the Cost Accountants Management Association (CMA) had demanded that cost accountants also be allowed to conduct audits. In response, Nanda said they oppose this demand. “Auditing is a CA’s domain and should remain so,” he asserted.