The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI) has launched an initiative to train chartered accountants in India so that the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) could be put in use in the country by 2014, said G Ramaswamy, Vice-President of ICAI in a press conference here on Sunday.

The IFRS will be implemented in three phase over a period of five years. The first phase will be over by April 2011, where 1,200 big companies will be covered. Subsequently, phase two and three will cover all other companies by 2014 except small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs will not be forced to adopt the new standard, he said.

The Institute has taken upon itself to act as a catalyst to the process of implementation of IFRS. Last year, it launched a certificate course on IFRS, said Ramaswamy.

The institute has started several certificate courses for training chartered accountants. So far, about 1,800 members have successfully undergone the training of the IFRS certificate course, he added.