Jaipur: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) here on Thursday to foster working relations between the two bodies.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Ved Jain, President, ICAI and Mr. Martin Hagen, Deputy President, ICAEW in the presence of Union Minister of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Prem Chand Gupta during the ongoing International Conference on 'Accounting Profession - Shining bridges between Global Economies'.

The MoU will provide for mutual recognition and examination arrangements for the members of the two bodies.

Inaugurating the five-day conference, Mr. Prem Chand Gupta said, "A historic MoU was signed today which would recognize the membership of other Institutes. It is an excellent bilateral cooperation and I am very glad that the two largest Accounting bodies have initiated this exercise and concluded it."

Mr. Ved Jain in his address remarked, "This is a historic and momentous occasion for the members of the ICAI and ICAEW. These are the two largest accounting bodies with a membership of over 1,50,000 & 1,30,000 respectively."

Mr. Martin Hagen commented that both India and UK have a strong trade interest. "This MoU will establish closer working linkages as well as provide recognition for members of the two bodies in the respective countries. With this arrangement, the two nations would be playing leadership role in their respective region", he said.

The arrangement provides that the existing members of ICAI with two years of post qualification experience will be eligible for ICAEW membership on passing the ICAEW's one paper on Case Study.

The ICAI members with less than two years of experience will be required to pass 3 papers - Case Study, Technical Integration Business change, Technical Integration Business Reporting.

On the other hand, members of ICAEW who are trained in public practice will become eligible for ICAI membership subject to passing ICAI's 4 examination papers for the special modules - Taxation; Law, Ethics & Communication; Information Technology & Strategic Management; and Auditing & Assurance.

Looking at the trade relationship between India & UK, it is expected that a good number of members from ICAI will opt for the membership of ICAEW and vice-versa.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) are currently the largest accounting bodies in the world.