BCAS President CA Mihir Sheth’s Message for the Month of July 2023
On 6th July 2023, I will complete my term as President of this esteemed institution. My heart is overwhelmed with emotions while I am writing this last communication. It looks as if just yesterday, I assumed the august office of the President of the BCAS. On the one hand, there is an emotion of joy that I could give my best to fulfill the promises made to the best extent possible, on the other hand, there is a hollowness on realising that I will miss out on the energy effervescing out of the 24X7 commitment to the BCAS. It was this energy that kept pumping adrenalin to my brain, driving it to work harder, longer and smarter. There is also an emotion of gratitude for having received so much love, affection and support from such a large community of seniors, stalwarts, colleagues, staff and members. As I look back, I realise that this was a journey of joy, learning, giving and, above all, self-discovery.
Having spent more than fifteen years with the BCAS in different positions, when I became President, I felt that there was a need to make certain things ‘easy’ for the members to help achieve the BCAS vision better. That is how I happened to choose the theme for the year 2022-23 as “EASE”, which promised to bring about required systemic changes. The idea behind this theme was to empower the members to have easy access to knowledge, emerging opportunities, as also ease of networking and reskilling. I am happy to say that I bid farewell to all of you with a great sense of satisfaction that I could fulfill most of the promises made. During the year gone by, we took a number of initiatives, various committees organised excellent events that aligned well with the theme. The events like Income Tax ki Paathshala, Online 5th Long Duration Course on the GST, Workshop on Practical Aspects of Audit for SME Practitioners, M&A Masterclass, Lecture Meeting on “Inflation Dynamics – India v/s USA Approach” and many such events were aligned to give easy access to the knowledge. Many bespoke events were also organised on emerging areas like ChatGPT, Process Automation under GST, Use of Technology in Audit, ‘Value Investing’ etc., for members to embrace the emerging opportunities. For providing ease for networking and reskilling, several residential conferences were organised. Also, for the new members, felicitation and mentoring sessions were organised to help them in their careers and expand their networks.
In addition, numerous initiatives were also taken to achieve the desired goal. During the year gone by, BCAS was certified as an ISO 9001:2015 compliant organisation, hybrid facilities were made available for meetings, engagement with existing and new organisations with a similar vision as BCAS was enhanced, social media presence increased with calibrated strategy and the beta version of the new website and mobile app was launched. Entire journal archives were digitized, and focus was given on making past premium events available to members at a reasonable cost. Under the auspices of the BCAS Foundation, we could carry on good humanitarian work by equipping some schools in backward areas with the facility of digital education through pre-loaded software on the television screens. Tree plantation and blood donation drives were also carried out with great zeal, matched by an equally enthusiastic response. This year BCAS published its long-awaited publication on ‘FAQs on Charitable Trust’, which was very well received by the readers.
Focus was also put on improving the administration by continuous monitoring and training of the staff. You may find the complete details of the activities and the initiatives in the Annual Report which can be downloaded from the site. To summarise, we did find fruition with ‘EASE’.
You will agree that we are at a very exciting time in the history of our institution. BCAS is entering the 75th year of its foundation and this historical feat holds a special place in the heart of all its members. The sheer fact of our society’s meaningful existence for more than seven decades and its successful transformation into a modern, progressive and digital institution speaks a lot about it. Appreciating the importance of the milestone, great plans are on anvil to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee with programmes befitting the occasion. Several events are planned on the bespoke themes throughout the year, culminating with a Mega Event in the month of January 2024. There will also be a special entertainment programme for the members to participate on this joyful occasion. We are surely looking at the exciting year ahead.
Just as I conclude my message, I convey my gratitude to the Chairmen and Co-Chairpersons of the ten committees through which BCAS’s activities were carried out throughout the year. Their dedication and guidance enabled us to provide very relevant and critical events and publications throughout the year. Under their able leadership, the conveners of each committee left no stone unturned to leave a mark of excellence and ensure smooth functioning. I would like to thank all the Past Presidents who have been pillars of strength and a source of inspiration throughout the year. A big thank you to the BCAS staff who have dedicatedly performed their duties and co-operated for new initiatives embarked on during the year for the effective functioning and serving the members of the Society. The year has been made memorable by my Office Bearer colleagues, who spearheaded various goals set at the start of the year. I thank all members and readers of the President’s message, who have, from time to time, showered their compliments, expressed their disagreement, pointed out anomalies and gave their suggestions to make it more effective. I have no hesitation in admitting that without their feedback, I would not have been inspired to do better. Lastly, I thank Almighty to have put me in this privileged position to know and interact with some of the best minds in the country. I hope I have been able to meet their expectations.
