The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will launch a four-week compulsory course to enhance soft skills of students from the current academic year. The General Management and Communication (GMC) course, mandatory for all students, will be started from this academic year, ICAI President Jaydeep Narendra Shah said here today. The course will sharpen soft skills of students. "It will be offered in two stages of 15 days each in the first and third year of CA course," he said. Shah is in the city to attend 2nd regional conference of ICAI which began today.

It is being attended by about 1,100 Chartered Accountants from various parts of the country. ICAI is a regulatory body and can help Government officals in tracking unaccounted money kept abroad, he said. ICAI is also ready to assist in auditing accounts of political parties, NGOs and educational institutions to bring to light financial irregularities, if any, he said.

The institute has developed a set of principles that can guide those conducting audits of political parties, NGOs and educational institutions, the ICAI President said. "The document is now with the Government of India and we expect the rules to come in force in 2013." ICAI has set up a high-powered committee to give suggestions on unearthing unaccounted money, Shah noted. It has also formulated a 'Uniform Accounting and Auditing Framework' to clear all suspicion about the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities of political parties, Shah said. "ICAI has submitted the document to the Election Commission and is awaiting its response."