CCP issues show cause to ICAP
The Competition Commission of Pakistan has issued the notice pertaining to a directive the ICAP had issued on July 4. The notice, issued by the ICAP to members and chartered accountants, asked the latter to refrain from engaging accountant trainees from certifying bodies other than the ICAP – particularly trainees from foreign institutes, or any other accounting body of a similar nature. This excluded students associated with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) from being hired by an ICAP member institution.
The show-cause notice states that the ICAP directive forecloses access to a large segment of the relevant market to such students, which appears to be in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010.
The notice further states that the move may also create barriers for persons who wish to offer accountancy services in Pakistan in the future; thereby preventing, restricting or reducing competition in these markets, which is in violation of the law.
Earlier, the CCP wrote to the ICAP on July 16, 2012 to ascertain the rationale behind the decision to bar offering training services to non-ICAP students, thus excluding a large segment of the market from acquiring professional training.
However, comments received from the ICAP failed to give any reasonable justification for the directive, said the CCP.
The ICAP has been directed to submit its written reply within seven days and appear before the CCP on September 24, 2012, to explain its position.
When contacted by The Express Tribune, ICAP President Rashid Rehman Mir refused to comment on the subject. “It’s just the beginning of the issue. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak to the media regarding the show-cause notice,” Mir said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2012.
COMMENTS (10)
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@Sibtain: well explianed very simple and true facts
ICAP done this act in good faith, to secure the future of many CA students who can not be enrolled due to enrollment of huge number of ACCA students inducted in big 4 firms ready to work even in just 2000 Rs/Month. Moreover the attitude of ACCA towards ICAP in granting exemptions is not justified in any respect. I beleive in order to secure the future of Pakistani CA students,economy of the country and to persuade students to do CA its a very good act
@Sunny: You are right, but ICAP has not stopped any other body member to have job in Pakistan.
@ Sleepin Nation,
many Pakistani Cjartered Accountants are woking in UK USA Canada firms without having local accouting body membership, if ICAP wants to set this policy then this should have been done long before so that students would not have opted for ACCA, now its too late.
Great. ICAP should learn how to deal with healthy competition. ICAP should be punished with heavy fines.
FACTS Lets Have doctors from Russia or any other country and put it on house job in Pakistani Hospitals. But it is not allowed.
Lets Pakistani CA students be enrolled in foreign countries but no foreign firm allows that.
No one from ICAP is tellling that if any one want to be enrolled in pakistani CA firms then he shoud be first enrolled with ICAP.
CCP must take action if the ICAP fails to provide reasonable justification and this is Bias act which must be prevented.
ICAP Should be punished with heavy fines for putting thousand's of students future on stake. if ICAP students are so competetive then lets compete why bar others from training.
Sanity will eventually prevail