India's Most Promising Accounting & Tax Consultants to watch

Accounting and finance with a global perspectivernHumans have always known the importance of keeping records and we have been doing that since the time of our existence on earth. From clay tablets in Egypt to scribbling on the wall and stone tablets, we have kept track of things as diverse as time, produce, precious metals, agreements and so on. And we have been doing that in varied formats, languages and scripts to suit each individual case and convenience. rnCut to the present where things have gone way beyond paper to the cloud with precious little remaining in physical forms. What though remains is the need to keep accounts, and the need to do that in ways and formats that people everywhere (remember the world’s gone FLAT!) can understand and relate to.rnConcurrent to the development of accounting was the development of finance, the one resource which could make or break most enterprises, if not empires worldwide. In fact, today if the word accounting gets uttered, it is always in the content of finance, and most in fact appear to be synonyms!rnWith the world having gone flat and continents losing their bearing in the ocean of finance, the importance of a global outlook with respect to accounting and finance was felt even more than ever. rnEnterprises are today global. So why not accounting and finance? Global is today local and so should accounting and finance be. With standardization having entered practically every aspect of life, keeping accounting and finance out of its ambit is asking for trouble. Finance is no more stagnant in places but travels wherever returns are good. In fact, it is a good way of providing employment and taxation to a number of countries where money travels. With so much travel of money, things can get complex if different accounting systems are employed countrywide. For precisely this reason, a global perspective in accounting and financing is a must. rnBodies like World Trade Organisation (WTO) to name one, want the world to operate as one single entity and reduce overlaps. One of the biggest reasons for finance being expensive is local regulations which ignore global realities. The best example comes across when one tries to send money by wire-transfer from one country to another. Despite apparent standardization and a plethora of agreements, it takes over six hours for money to reach the other end! Imagine if it was an emergency, including a spike in some country’s stock-markets. It would mean that part of the world which has money cannot invest on time where it is most needed! Bodies like WTO and many trade blocs today insist on uniform accounting and finance practices such that money travels with maximum ease and minimum cost, and does so fast. Overlaps, we know reduce the ability to generate income and exploit opportunities besides adding to the cost of finance.rnFinance is necessary for business of every kind, good or bad, and the only way to keep the lid on tight is by having uniformity and legislations like Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in place. Imagine if there were multiple ways of accounting and financing like was the case with countries in Europe (France in particular). It led to double taxation, and then started the game of pilfering to save on taxes. In today’s world, even with a level of understanding and uniformity, money laundering is one of the most serious crimes doing the rounds. One way to keep check, if not eradicate it is by bring a global outlook to accounting and finance.rnThe world is moving towards advanced systems which helps in multiple ways. No two countries can ever be alike in economic status, accounting and finance, and technical prowess. This holds true even in the case of advanced economies of the west and gets starker when comparisons are made across the globe. With huge gaps in technologies becoming crevices for criminal enterprise to develop, and strengthen their roots, there is no other way for the world but to have a global outlook with respect to accounting and finance - with special emphasis to make things easier for lesser endowed corners of the world. New developments like bitcoins make it imperative to remain in sync with the world. Money, the way we have always understood it was fiat money which was controlled and released by individual governments. Movement of money across borders thus were controlled, and in some cases quite effectively (even though at times industries and sectors within an economy was at the receiving end of such embargoes). With technology triumphing over authority, it was just a question of time before cryptocurrencies like bitcoins came to the fore which have completely done away with the concept of regulations. In the light of such sweeping and unexpected happenings, the only way the world can keep itself safe and productive is to come together, adopt a common system of accounting and finance, and help keep track of transactions. It would help greatly by keeping things in order. In our latest issue, we explore the importance of accounting and finance and companies that are striving to serve you the best. rnHave a fruitful read.