BCAS President CA Zubin Billimoria’s Message for the Month of August 2025
As I pen down my thoughts for the first time after taking over as the President of this august institution in its 77th year, I am filled with mixed feelings, both of joy as well as introspection considering that I am the second oldest person to assume this office! I also feel destiny and providence has also played a part in this journey which I refer to as my third inning. My first innings began with a professional services firm for 30 years till March 2015. In my second innings, I began undertaking my personal practice coupled with social service activities and also serving as an independent director and trustee in companies and NPOs, which I am still continuing with. It was during this period that I also got an opportunity to serve BCAS which was a consistent part of my life! Whilst I have played multiple roles during this journey, a significant portion thereon was devoted to BCAS which in a way became my second home, culminating with my appointment as a President. This is what I refer to as destiny and providence. Now I am before you all in my third innings!
Before proceeding further, I refer to the change of guard at the Journal with CA Sunil Gabhawalla taking over as the Editor in place of CA Mayur Nayak. I would like to place on record the stellar contribution made by Mayurbhai and also extend a warm welcome to Sunilbhai and I am sure that the journal would scale greater heights with his visionary stewardship.
During the course of my presidential journey over the next twelve months I will be penning down my thoughts on certain contemporary themes; one in each month, affecting the profession and how we as members as well as BCAS are impacted and the way forward as also important developments and events within BCAS, without duplicating too much of what appears in the Society News section elsewhere in the Journal.
This being the season of AGMS, it would be appropriate to deal with Governance and its impact on companies, professionals and institutions like us. as Professionals, we are not just observers of governance—we are active participants, evaluators, and its stewards. Whether we audit financial statements, advise boards, or ensure regulatory compliance, our actions directly influence the quality and credibility of governance in the institutions we serve.
In the context of Corporates, governance ensures that companies are not merely driven by promoters or executives, but managed in the interests of all stakeholders—shareholders, employees, customers, creditors, regulators, and the community. Further, governance is not just restricted to listed companies in view of specific regulatory guidelines as also their enhanced public interest; it is equally critical for startups, family businesses, NGOs, cooperative societies, professional bodies and public institutions since they also in some way or the other deal with public funds and specific stakeholders interests.
Since the beginning of this century, India has made significant progress in formalising governance norms through legislations such as the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR). In the journey towards Corporate Governance, we have scaled new heights since the inception of SEBI. The evolving ESG and BRSR frameworks will enable India to meet its sustainability targets. Provisions related to independent directors, audit committees, board disclosures, and related party transactions are now central to boardroom functioning. However, true governance goes beyond compliance. While regulation can mandate structure, the spirit of governance must be internalised. It must manifest in culture, tone at the top, board dynamics, whistleblower protection, succession planning and stakeholder engagement. Several corporate failures—despite being compliant on paper—have exposed governance gaps in practice. In this context it is worth mentioning that in the keynote address delivered by Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on the role of CAs in Corporate Governance during the 77th Founding day, he emphasized that Corporate Governance should not just be ticking the checklist.
At BCAS, we continue to play an active role in fostering conversations around governance. Our lectures, workshops and other programmes consistently explore topics such as board effectiveness, audit reforms, regulatory updates and ethics, amongst others. Further, at an organisational level by embracing the ISO standards we strive to lead by example—through systematic decision-making by framing SOPs and making the institution process agnostic rather than person agnostic and adopt a member-centric approach.
In future the role in governance would increasingly cover the following facets
- In family-run enterprises, balancing tradition with transparency.
- In startups, governance should be practiced upfront rather than as an afterthought when a crisis emerges.
- In public institutions, bureaucracy and lack of accountability should not hinder effective governance.
The following emerging trends need to be kept in mind by professionals whilst advising on governance:
- Board diversity and competence.
- Ethical leadership and succession planning.
- Digitally enabled governance tools and dashboards.
- Stronger integration of ESG considerations in governance decisions.
Recent Initiatives:
I would like to specifically highlight two recent initiatives – BCAS BROADCAST and BCAS ACADEMY.
BCAS BROADCAST is a digital platform which aims to take member communication to the next level by not only communicating news and views and latest regulatory updates but also providing links to important events and other announcements.
BCAS ACADEMY is the next level state of the art digital platform which provides a self based learning infrastructure which houses digital assets and offers various certification programmes, both paid and unpaid to both members and non-members.
Members are earnestly requested to explore these platforms.
Congruence through Thought, Words and Deeds:
To conclude, I am reminded of the words in the Parsi Zoroastrian Avesta prayers – Humatha Hukatha Huvarshta which translates into good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Our roles as professionals should necessarily follow this value system. If we cannot practice what we advise, it is better that we do not advise. Our thoughts, words and deeds should always be synchronized.
My thanks once again to one and all for reposing faith in me for this prestigious post and warm greetings for the festive season and Happy Independence day in advance!
