The Society of Auditors was formed in the pre-independence era, circa 1927 as an informal group of well-known and respected accounting professionals, then known as Registered Accountants. Th same was formally registered as a Society in 1932 (mind you, we are calculating Society’s age only from its formal birth!) and was the only body of accounting professionals (including the wannabe ones) that was a connect between the profession and the Government. To say more succinctly, it is perhaps appropriate to quote from the autobiography of one of the leading lights of our profession Sri G.Narayanaswamy titled 'Beyond Auditing': "The dedicated members of the Society made representation to the Government of India for constituting an autonomous body for the management of the profession. It had been a continuous endeavour of the society from all parts of the country that led to the formation of the ICAI". He further writes: "As a result of public activities it had been carrying on, it was able to produce leaders in the profession. Many of them later became members of the Central council, and some also became Presidents of the Institute. It commanded such prestige that the Government of India requested the Society to participate in the 5th International Congress of Accountants held in Berlin in Sept, 1938".
The stellar role played by the eminent persons like S/Shri S.Suriyanarayanan, K.Sadaagopachari, D.Rangaswamy, M.R.Narayanan, B.B.Naidu, RajamIyer, Ubayadullah Sahib, P.Brahmayya, P.Gopalakrishna Rao, T.C.A. Meenakshi Sundaram, C.S.Sastry, G.Narayanaswamy, C.S.Hariharan, V.Pichaikutti, Ananthachari (none of whom are with us today) and many others laid the strong foundation for the Society. The Society had built a strong and healthy relationship with the Income Tax officialdom that the Department allotted a large hall for housing SOA’s office in Aayakar Bhavan, which was in Society’s possession till the year 2004.
When Shri. D.Rangaswamy, on retirement from Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, took over as the President of the Society, the march ahead was remarkable. He brilliantly stewarded the Society and helped it gain prominence in many facets. He gathered and motivated several youngsters some of whom later became the Presidents of ICAI- like Shri. R.Balakrishnan, Shri. R.Bupathy and Shri T.N.Manoharan, Sri G. Sitharaman etc, to mention a few names. The Society celebrated the Golden Jubilee by organizing the conference on the 17th & 18th October 1981. It was inaugurated by Shri R. Venkatraman, the then Union Finance Ministerwho later became the President of India. The Conference was attended by a galaxy of Accountants from the profession and industry as well as members of the Income Tax Department & Tribunal. The Society also felicitated Shri Bansi S Mehta and Shri Ashok Kumbhat, the then President & Vice President of ICAI.
The Diamond Jubilee celebration was inaugurated by Honourable Justice S.Ranganathan 27th September 1991. The conference with the theme "Accounting Environment" was inaugurated by Shri. Rameswar Thakur who had adorned the Governorship of various states such as Maharashtra, Odisha, AP and Karnataka and a Chartered Accountant himself. Shri N.K.P.Salve, the former Union Minister, also a member of our profession gave a special address on this occasion.
One of the major events of the Society was a Conference on Reengineering Direct Taxes, which was then inaugurated by Honourable Justice T.N.C.Rangarajan, the then Judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court. The valedictory address was given by Shri N.Rangachari, the then CBDT Member.
The Society celebrated the 70th year of its existence in a grand manner by arranging a conference. Mr.G.V.Raman, who succeeded Sri GN handed over the Presidentship to Shri. K.Ananthachari in 2005. Mr.Ananthachari, with a great zeal of enthusiasm put in enormous efforts to realise the long cherished dream of having an own premises for the Society, aptly christened as Platinum Chambers as it was the hall mark event in its Platinum Jubilee year. The Society's Platinum jubilee celebration was inaugurated on December 11, 2006. Honorable Justice T.N.C.Rangarajan, Retd Judge Andhra Pradesh High Court, gave the inaugural address. The key note address was given by Shri.N.Lakshminarayanan of Cognizant Technologies Limited. Shri. T.N.Manoharan, President of ICAI gave a special address. The Society honoured all the senior members who completed 70 years of age.
The 80th anniversary of the Society of Auditors was celebrated with grandeur and gaiety in 2013. The ‘coming of age’ of 80, was commented by the Editorial of the AUDITOR, the official newsletter of the Society, aptly, as below:
"The completion of 80 years for any institution is a momentous occasion. One that calls for a celebration. But one that also is a responsibility and a powerful reminder to stay contemporary, relevant to the times and to excel in the future. We need to re-examine our roles in the context in which we operate. The SOA was founded at a time when ethical behaviour was a matter of routine but technical Guidance to professionals was low, given that the profession itself was in its embryonic stage. The internet age has changed the way we think, live and work. Information is aplenty and everywhere. So much that it has become a challenge to distinguish between what is needed and what is not, what is good and what is bad, what is relevant and what is irrelevant.
The professional landscape is overtly simple. There are strategic initiatives for the profession (what we want to do), operational aspects (how we do this) and most importantly the Ethical framework in which we shall operate.
Organisations such as the ICAI have mastered the operational aspects very well. For reasons attributable to ability, inclination or the pace of growth, we often find that several lacunae exist in the bedrock of our profession which cause massive fault lines in the way we operate. Organisations such as ours should provide thought leadership at a strategic level and play a much larger role on inculcating better professional behaviour.
His Excellency Sri E S L Narasimahan, the illustrious Governor (an absolutely an unassuming gentleman) inaugurated the function with a candid yet caring speech and Swamiji Bodhamayanandaji of Sri Ramakrishna Mission delivered an electrifying address on the evening of 24th July, 2013 rounding up the proceedings. On the 24th there was a seminar on certain very important and informative topics and they were meaningfully presented with erudition and class.
As the Hon'ble Governor rightly observed, the Society has a sacred duty of preserving andprotecting the dharmic values in these days of trust deficit; and should be a conscience keeper of the profession. Absolutely true".
THE ILLUSTRIOUS JOURNEY GOES ON AND THE SOCIETY IS NOW NEARING NINETY!
AND WILL MARCH TO ITS SPLENDID CENTENARY!!
(Disclaimer: The history that is captured here is neither exhaustive nor complete. Only a few snippets have been mentioned. Several important names as well as incidents have been omitted – not by choice but for want of accurate details and necessary information.)