By Matters India Reporter
Kochi: The Christian Institute of Management is to hold the Christian Chartered Accountants Conference 2018 in Cochin from 23 – 25 February.
“This is the fourth edition of the conference since its inception in 2014. The earlier conferences were held at Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru respectively,” A. John Moris, the event organizer, told Matters India.
The aim of conducting this conference is to empower the Church, bishops and heads of various Catholic religious orders and associations/institutions across the country by providing effective exposure to the aspects of finance by the Member Chartered Accountants being the subject matter experts, said Moris, founder-managing partner of A. John Moris & Co. Chennai.
Other aims are to establish and ensure adequate systems are in place at churches for effective monitoring, review, and compliance with administrative and financial aspects; explore and enhance the resulting synergy through the Networking at the Conference for the collective common good, and equip the Member Chartered Accountants to overcome their inherent professional challenges with the aid of profound principles and practices in the Bible.
“Being Chartered Accountants that we are – members of the premier accounting body of the country and partners in nation building since 1949, we sincerely comprehend the challenges that lay before church leaders in leading the church and the commoners amidst the plethora of adversities in the contemporary scenario,” Moris said.
“The conference of such nature is being conducted with the earnest intention of collaborating and extending our helping hand in empowering the Diocese and Christian Chartered Accountants through Self-Sustainable Financial and administrative models,” he added.
The meet is to enlighten participants on financial inclusion as a tool in reducing financial disparity in the weakest and remotest regions of dioceses.
Participants will be sensitized on the plethora of possibilities each Chartered Accountant will create in each of the parishes in dioceses upon launching this scheme through industry interface and financial opportunities (mobilising loans, investments and deposits).
One of the concerns of Christian Chartered Accountants is to promote financial inclusion, which in simple terms is ensuring access to financial products and services on a timely basis at an affordable cost to the vulnerable groups. More than 2/3rd of India’s population is still out of proper banking channels. More than 80% of borrowings happen in informal sectors.
Benefits of financial inclusion are to lower cost of borrowings, reduce/stop deaths due to abnormal exuberant interest rates, access to other financial products like insurance and investment channels (Equity and Debt Instruments) proper channel for subsidy and grants.
Having started his career as a practicing Chartered Accountant in 1989, Moris went on to set up his own independent practice, A.John Moris & Co in 1996. With a humble beginning, yet with dedication and unswerving hard work, the firm, today has grown to 23 partners with 13 branches across India.