ICAI Hosts Western Education Summit on Commerce and Accountancy (WESCA) 2024

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) through its education wing – The Board of Studies (BoS) recently organized a two-day Western Education Summit on Commerce and Accountancy (WESCA) 2024 in Mumbai. The regional summit, focusing on the Western region of India, addressed pertinent issues and opportunities in Commerce and Accountancy education. Themed “Digital Innovation in Accounting, Auditing, Costing, Finance, and Commerce,” the summit aimed to bring together leading academicians, researchers, and scholars from the field to explore the transformative potential of technology in reshaping the educational landscape.

The summit featured insightful sessions on various topics, including the future of professional education in chartered accountancy, trends in auditing and financial assurance, the role of data analytics in business decision-making, and the applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in commerce education. Discussions also covered the factors affecting the teaching profession’s learning process, the role of blockchain technology in audit and financial transactions, and the unique challenges faced by e-commerce businesses. Over 70 participants from various universities and colleges across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa attended the event.

CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, President, ICAI states “Building on the success of the National Education Summit on Commerce and Accountancy (NES-CA) held in 2023 and 2024, which have been instrumental in advancing the standardization of syllabi for undergraduate courses across the nation, the ICAI organized WESCA 2024. The main objective of Summit is to enhance quality of commerce and accountancy education in India specifically to meet industry requirements and to improve practical knowledge of students”.

At the Summit, deliberations were made by CA. (Dr.) Rajkumar S Adukia, Chairman, Board of Studies and other distinguished speakers including Prof. M Venkateshwarlu, IIM Mumbai, Prof. Pankaj Dutta, IIT Mumbai, CA. Anand Prakash Jangid, Visiting Faculty, IIM Bangalore, NFSU, BML, Dr. Bindu Das, Associate Professor, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, Dr. Svetlana Tatuskar, Director, Kohinoor Business School, Mumbai, CA. Manish Agrawal, Chief Solutions Officer and Co-founder of Formidium, and CA. Jaikishin Rupraj.

CA. (Dr.) Rajkumar S. Adukia, Chairman, Board of Studies, said“The Western Education Summit on Commerce and Accountancy (WESCA) 2024 has been a remarkable event, witnessing some insightful discussions and innovative ideas on how digital technology can revolutionize the fields of accounting, auditing, costing, finance, and commerce. Our goal is to continually enhance the education standards and ensure that our students are well-prepared for the future.”