Indian Accounting Association Research Foundation (having PAN AAATI3602A) got approval under section 80G(5)(vi) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, from Assessment Year 2011-12 with perpetuity [vide M.No.DIT(E)/8E/134/90-91/3159/6819 dated 21.11.2011].

Any contribution/donation to the Foundation ( A/c IAA Research Foundation) will get benefit of deduction for income tax purpose.

I. G. D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE FUND

In view of tax exemption being granted to IAA Research Foundation, Dr. Bhabatosh Banerjee, one of the research scholars of Prof. G. D. Roy, donated a sum of Rs.1,00,000 in March 2014 with the request for creating an Endowment Fund and appealed to his research scholars for making generous contributions to this noble cause of creating an endowment fund so that a memorial lecture in the name of legendary Professor G, D. Roy can be organised annually out of income of the fund. The Executive Committee of the Foundation gave its concurrence on 22.05.2014.

In response to the above appeal, many ph.d. scholars of Dr. Banerjee and a few others contributed Rs.3,00,000/- over a period of four months only. The names of the contributors and the amount contributed by each of them (in brackets) are given in the paragraph that follows.
Dr. Pinaki Ranjan Roy, Principal, Netaji Nagar Day College, Kolkata (Rs.40,000); Dr. Swapan Kanti Choudhuri, Executive Director, EPL Global (Rs.30,000); Dr. Manipadma Dutta, Dean Academics, Teri University, New Delhi, Dr. Swagata Sen, Professor and Dean of Commerce and Management, University of Calcutta, Dr. Jitendra Lal Kundu, Former Reader, R.B.C. College, Naihati (Rs.25,000 each); Dr. Kartick Chandra Paul, Professor of Commerce, Vidyasagar University (Rs.22,000); Dr. Lakshmisree Ghosh, Associate Professor, Naba Bullygung Mahavidyalaya, Kolkata, Dr. Goutam Bhowmik, Assistance Professor, Gourbanga University, Malda, West Bengal, and Dr. Onkarnath Dutta, Formerly of SAIL, Ranchi (Rs.20,000 each); Dr. Arindam Banerjee, Pennsylvania, USA (Rs.13,000); CA Dr. Satyajit Dhar, Professor, MBA, Kalyani University, Dr. Dhrubaranjan Dandapat, Professor of Commerce, Calcutta University, Dr. Samirendra Nath Dhar, Professor of Commerce, North Bengal University, CA Dr. Somnath Ghosh, Somnath Ghosh & Associates, Dr. Surojit De, Assistant Professor, Raigunge University College, NBU, Dr. Amalendu Bhunia, HOD, Commerce, Kalyani University (Rs.10,000 each).

Total fund collected was Rs.4,00,000; Total Fund invested Rs. 4,00,000 in FD with SBI, Lake Gardens Branch, Kolkata-700 045, at 8.5% p.a. and “G. D. Roy Memorial Endowment Fund” has been created with Rs.4,00,000 to meet the expenses of annual Memorial Lecture out of interest from the Fund.

II. CONTRIBUTION OF PROF. ROY TO ACCOUNTING AND HIS BRIEF RESUME

It is very hard to catch in one frame a versatile personality like Professor Gopal Das Roy (G..D. Roy). His scholarship, his administrative quality, his feelings and devotion towards wellbeing of the students made him a legend figure during his life time in the area of academia. So the following few paragraphs about him as an endeavour to portrait him may be a courageous one.This is done in two sections viz. (A) Contribution to Accounting, and (B) Brief Resume.

A) Contribution to Accounting :

Prof. G. D. Roy published three books (including one jointly edited with the then Head of the Department of Commerce, Prof. K. Mukerji), about 20 research-based articles in accounting in different Indian journals and supervised 14 Ph.D. theses for doctorate degree in commerce under the University of Calcutta.

(i) A Survey of Accounting Ideas with an Approach Based on Claims to Services (Alpha Publishing Concern, Kolkata, 1963, pp. 488)
This landmark publication is divided into six parts, viz.

Although the book deals with many areas of accounting and reporting with a new and innovative approach, Part III is widely considered to be his original contribution to the literature of accounting. In brief, the theory of “claims to services” envisages that all accounting attributes are ‘claims to services’, positive or negative. Assets and liabilities are claims and disclaims against or in favour of any body. But expenses are claims against proprietorship and incomes disclaims in favour of it. All transactions are exchanges in claims which bring about a change in accounting balances in such a way that, at any moment, the sum of the existing claims is always equal to that of the existing disclaims (p.164, Part III).

A Survey of Accounting Ideas received wide appreciation from renowned scholars the world over, as a piece of “substantial work along with publications of Bell, Sprouze and Moonitz, Littleton and Zimmerman” (Stephen A.Zeff), “evidence of high level scholarship” (R.T.Sprouse), “this is a first effort of its kind by any Indian author” (T.M.Hill), to quote only a few distinguished academics.

(ii) Studies in Accounting Theory, (ed.) K. Mukerji and G. D. Roy [The World Press Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, 1975; (2/e 1981) pp. 374]
This volume contains 17 articles in different areas of accounting and reporting by the faculty members of the Department of Commerce, University of Calcutta. It was “an effort to ensure that the teaching of Accountancy can be kept meaningfully related to the act of recording physical transactions. In this sense, there can be no theory that does not completely cover the practice in the associated area. The principal effort in the volume has been to establish that what is usually called theoretical are immensely important issues of interpretation, without which the so-called practice in respect of an area cannot have any meaning whatsoever” (Preface to the 1st ed., p. iv).

The book was first of its kind for commerce students of undergraduate and post-graduate students in India. The emphasis on teaching “theory” to the students was subsequently formalised in the commerce syllabi of many universities and those of professional bodies. Professor Mukerji and Professor Roy played pioneering role in bringing in new method of teaching of accountancy in India.

(ii) Anatomy of Depreciation (The World Press Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, 1977, pp. 206)
During his service in Rishi Bankim Chandra College as Principal, Prof. Roy started writing another classical book, Anatomy of Depreciation, and completed the work in 1977. In the Introduction portion, Prof. Roy wrote (p.1) as follows:

“Depreciation as an accounting device has been much talked of and criticised. No end of such talks and criticisms has yet been reached. In fact, it can, possibly, be never reached. Depreciation has so many facets, both practical and conceptual, that no amount of interpretative exercises may appear to be ever conclusive or exhaustive. The interpretations are both complicated and controversial. Hence, reconsideration of old ideas must continue with invention of new ones. Some of these ideas are sought to be placed here and analysed.”

This was another masterpiece in the literature of accounting and was evident from the review made by the Accounting Review of the American Accounting Association in 1979. “The book provides an excellent basis for further rigorous research”. Among others, the observations of Prof. Paul Garner as “top authority on some of the aspects of the timeless subject of depreciation” speak volume in favour of its excellence.

(iii) Supervising Ph. D. scholars for Ph.D. Degree from the Department of Commerce, University of Calcutta

Professor G. D. Roy’s method of supervision resembles the ancient “Gurukul” system. His scholarly endeavour, his affectionate touch made each scholar indebted to him life-long. It was a delightful experience to each research scholar. He spent considerable period of his career in supervising 14 Ph.D. dissertations (vide Table 1) all of which were awarded Ph.D. Degree. Many of these research works were subsequently published and well-received by the academic community. In an era where interest on research in accounting was not even catching up, Professor Roy played a pioneering role in promoting research in accounting in India. Accordingly, drawing analogy from cricket, many academics describe him as “Don Bradman” in the field of accounting research.

Table : 1

Source: Compiled from University of Calcutta, Ph.D. Section, since it was not possible to contact all the scholars individually.

There were many other research scholars who were immensely benefited by receiving Prof. Roy’s valuable advice in respect of their research works.

B) Brief Resume of Prof. G. D. Roy

Prof. G. D. Roy (born on 11.12.1916) started his teaching career in 1942 from Haraganga College and thereafter he served Manikgunge College and Dacca University (all situated in the erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) as a Lecturer. He was compelled to leave Dacca University when his parents with other family members decided to settle in India after partition in 1947.

As a teacher, his debut in India was in Kharagpur College where he stayed for a short period. Then he joined Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati, 24-Parganas, West Bengal, in 1950 as Vice-Principal. It was a very colourful period in his life when he proved himself as a great academician as well as a finest administrator in the field of higher education in West Bengal. As an academician, he started writing a book, A Survey of Accounting Ideas, about which a brief write-up has already been given in Section A(ii). Prof. Roy was simultaneously involved in building Rishi Bankim Chandra College from scratch to a College of 13,000 students having scope to study in three shifts – morning, day and evening – with a number of subjects under Arts, Science & Commerce streams which at that time most of the universities could not afford to offer for many constraints.

Prof. Roy joined University of Calcutta in 1972 as Reader in Commerce and started teaching Accounting Theory, a subject which was very dear to his heart. Over time, he served as In-charge of Evening Department of Commerce for a brief period and later, as Head of the Department for two years. Professor Roy became Professor of Accountancy in 1982. It was probably for the first time that the U.G.C. visiting team recommended the post of a “professor of accountancy” keeping in mind the contribution of Professor Roy in India. The post was however made open, i.e. professor of commerce, shortly after the retirement of Professor Roy on 01.02.1982.

He was the founder member of the Indian Accounting Association (IAA) and became its President in 1974. Prof. Roy acted as the Chief Editor of the Indian Journal of Accounting (a bi-annual journal of IAA) for a number of years. He was also the founder member of the IAA Research Foundation. Along with all these activities in India, Prof. Roy regularly maintained academic contacts with American Accounting Association (AAA) as its member. His two attempts to attend the International Conference of the AAA, on special invitation, did not succeed – first due to wild-cat strike of airlines and then due to sudden set back in his health condition. Nevertheless, Prof. Roy continued to keep regular contacts with renowned scholars in different parts of the world even though electronic connectivity in those days was few and far between. In January 1994, when Professor Stephen A. Zeff, immediate Past President of the AAA, came to Calcutta to give a keynote address in the Second International Conference of the IAA Research Foundation, he was delighted to meet this accounting scholar from India and expressed his views that his long wait for meeting the author of “A Survey of Accounting Ideas” ultimately ended in Calcutta.

In 1995, the University of Calcutta recognised and felicitated him as “Eminent Teacher” during its Annual Convocation for “outstanding contribution to teaching and research for over two decades and for encouraging and nurturing students who have distinguished themselves by their scholastic achievements.”
Prof. Roy’s versatile talents did not remain confined to academic activities alone. In his early life, he was very fond of performing recitation and drama in academic and social functions. He organised many dramas and played important roles in each. These include Bankim Chandra‘s Baikunther Khata, Rabindranath Tagore’s Dakghar and Karna-Kuntir Sangbhad, to mention a few. . Prof. Roy did not hesitate to participate in any social functions organized by several organisations, including Eastern Railways. Such functions ranged from sports, to Basanta Utsab and Bangalir Mach Dhara. Accordingly, his popularity did not remain confined to academic institutions but spread far and wide. He became a most respected social personality for his contribution to different activities of the society. In brief, every body and every organisation could access to “Gopalbabu” for any purpose whatsoever.

On 28th September, 1997, this noble soul left for heavenly abode leaving behind him his wife, Mrs. Bina Roy, two sons (Debaki and Pinaki), daughter-n-laws (Bharati and Gargi) and grandson (Angsuman) and grand-daughter (Puloma) and thousands of his students both in India and Bangladesh. Mrs. Bina Roy, who was Headmistress of Madanpur Kendriya Adarsa Vidyalaya for Girls (Higher Secondary), and, latter, of Garifa High School for Girls (Higher Secondary), always rendered her helping hands to Prof. Roy in all activities. Mrs. Roy’s life ended on 9th December, 2008. She too left behind her family members and relatives and thousands of her ex-students.



The feeling of the accounting community can be partially captured from the resolution adopted after the sad demise of Professor Roy.

The First G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture

The First G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was held on 26th July, 2014, in the International Management Institute-Kolkata, 2/4C Judges Court Road, Alipore, Kolkata-700 027 (Room No. 104), from 10:45 am to 12:00 noon. Prof. K. R. Sharma, formerly of the University of Udaipur, and Past President, IAA, chaired the session. Dr. Bhabatosh Banerjee, former research scholar of Prof. G. D. Roy, spoke on Research in Business Education; Some Issues. Dr. B. Banerjee published in the Indian Journal of Accounting (December, 2014: Vol. XLVI- 2) an article entitled "Accounting Education in India in Changing Perspectives" (pp. 37- 46) based on the memorial lecture.

The Second G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture

The Second G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was held on 25th July, 2015, in Room No.104 of the International Management Institute-Kolkata, 2/4C Judges Court Road, Kolkata-700 027, from 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Dr. K.V.Achalapathi, Professor & former Dean of Commerce, Osmania University, and past President, Indian Accounting Association, spoke on “Implications of IFRS on Corporate Financial Reporting in India: Empirical Evidence”, which was a part of his major UGC Research Project. Professor Achalapathi (a) examined the experiences of countries which has adopted/converged their accounting standards with that of IFRS, and (b) analyzed the impact of IFRS on Corporate Financial Reporting through Financial Ratios.

The Session, which was chaired by Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, President, IAA Research Foundation, was very interactive. Dr. Pinaki Ranjan Roy, former Principal, Netaji Nagar Day College, Kolkata, offered a hearty vote of thanks.

Professor Achalapathi's revised paper entitled "Implications of IFRS on Corporate Financial Reporting in India: Empirical Evidence from Select Indian Companies" is published in the December, 2015 issue (Vol. 19, No.2) of Indian Accounting Review.

The Third G.D.Roy Memorial Lecture

The Third G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was organized on 9th July, 2016, at the J. N. Bose Auditorium of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. Dr. D. V. Ramana, senior Professor, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, spoke on “Cost to Serve and Tariff Rationalization in Power Sector: Some Observations”. The session was chaired by Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, President, IAA Research Foundation.

Professor Ramana in his thought provoking talk explained the concept of “cost to serve” (CTS) using the financial information of one of the power distribution companies of Odisha, NESCO, which is in the business of distribution and retail supply of electricity in five districts of Odisha. According to him the cost to serve the domestic customers is around two and half times of the heavy industry. But the tariff is not reflecting the cost to serve. He revealed the importance of pricing based on CTS. According to him, the present classification of cost and expenses is not very relevant for CTS study. These components ((expenses, incomes, assets and liabilities) are therefore required to be classified and recorded in such a way that they can be used for statutory accounting and CTS determination.A revised version of the paper was published in Indian Accounting Review, December, 2017, pp. 25-37.

The session was interactive and the possibility of funding of a research project by the Foundation was also discussed. Dr. Pinaki Ranjan Roy, former Principal, Netaji Nagar Day College, Kolkata, offered a hearty vote of thanks.

Fourth G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture

The Fourth G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was organised on 8th July, 2017, in the J.N.Bose Auditorium of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India from 12.30 noon to 1.30 p.m. Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, President of the IAA Research Foundation, was in chair. Dr. Asish Saha, Professor of Flame Universituy, Pune, and former Director, National Institute of Bank Management, spoke on the theme “Banking Structure, Conduct and Performance: the Indian Reality.” Many members of the Research Foundation and CMAs were in attendance.

Dr. Pinaki Ranjan Roy, former Principal, Netaji Nagar Day College, offered a hearty vote of thanks.

Professor Saha explored the possible rationality behind the impending move of a Government-led merger amongst public sector banks in the country based on two-stage analysis of the financial performances of a sample of 84 banks during the period 2000-2016. The analysis was carried out in the backdrop of the ongoing debate in the literature on competition, efficiency and stability in banking and the corresponding issues in banking consolidation. Findings suggest that due to concentration, bigger banks having better solvency position are able to offset their operational inefficiency by higher margin in lending products. It is found that though Indian banks have been able to increase their return on assets by expanding their lending activities, the tendency of over-reaching the borrowers has resulted into strained position in their balance sheet. For further details of the paper, go through December issue of IAR.

FIFTH G. D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Fifth G.D. Roy Memorial Lecture was organised during the national seminar of the IAA Research Foundation on 7th July, 2018 at the Auditorium of Umesh Chandra College, Kolkata. Professor Ranjan Kumar Bal, former Professor of Commerce & Dean, P.G. Department, Utkal University, and former President, Indian Accounting Association, gave the address on Integrated Reporting and Corporate Sustainability: Some Observations. The session was chaired by Dr. Bhabatosh Banerjee, President, IAA Research Foundation. Professor Dhrubaranjan Dandapat introduced Professor Bal and Professor Ashis Sana, Treasurer, gave a hearty vote of thanks.

Professor Bal started with his thought-provoking address by saying that corporate reporting evolved from a traditional financial reporting to sustainability reporting to, more recently, Integrated Reporting(IR). “Integrated reporting is a vehicle for long-term value creation for and by the business itself. It helps them think, plan and report the story of their business”.It is a concise communication about how an organization’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects lead to creation of value over short, medium and long-term. It is an integrated representation of a company’s performance in terms of a company’s financial and other value relevant information, which helps stakeholders in their decision-making. IR is expected to bring greater transparency on corporate commitment to sustainability by showing the links between financial and sustainability performance in single document. It aims at connecting different functions to form a holistic view of the business, recognizing the value, risks, and opportunities. It takes a wider view of the six ‘capitals’, i.e., financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural capital with which it operates and applying the reporting to the core business model and strategy of the organization. IR is emerging as an innovative reporting tool for companies for integrating environmental and social thinking into their business. Many countries (Japan, India, South Africa, UK and some European countries) and their regulators have taken initiatives to implement integrated reporting. SEBI, in consultation with industry bodies and stock exchanges, asked the top 500 listed companies to voluntarily adopt IR framework from the financial year 2017-18.Tata Steel, Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Wipro, HDFC Ltd. and Induslnd Bank have prepared integrated reports in the last financial year.

SIXTH G.D.ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Sixth G.D Roy Memorial Lecture organized by Indian Accounting Association Research Foundation (IAARF) Kolkata jointly with EIILM-Kolkata was delivered by Prof Nikhil Bhusan Dey, Professor Emeritus and Former Dean, Mahatma Gandhi School of Economics and Commerce, Assam (Central) University Silchar, on 20th July, 2019 on the topic Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: An Indian Perspective. The Seminar was chaired by the President of the Foundation. Prof. Dhrubaranjan Dandapat, Secretary, welcomed the delegates.

Prof. Dey started with examining the role of business in society and their inter-dependence. Business organizations are social institutions as they use the resources from society and are ethically bound to serve the society. According to him, of all the theories of Social responsibilities of business, the most dominant one is the stakeholders theory as opposed to shareholders theory advocated by Friedman in his book “Capitalism and Freedom”. He emphasized that in Indian context the origin of CSR can be traced back to the Vedic literature like Puranas, Ramanyana, Mahabharata and Kautilya’s Arthasastra written in Sanskrit.

The social reporting/accounting methods in India and abroad have travelled a lot and different methods of social reporting are practised by different companies voluntarily. These are mostly part of the Annual Reports. He tried to put forward the entire evolution process of social reporting in India from voluntary to mandatory under Companies Act, 2013. He also highlighted the international initiative like United Nations Global Compact ,Global Reporting Initiative 2002 , Social Accountability,2008 and ISO 26000 in regard to social accounting , reporting and disclosure. He examined different models of social reporting and disclosure and analysed with empirical data of 57 companies selected from BSE 200, and tried to make a comparison with the expenditure and reporting practices including web reporting before and after the Companies Act, 2013. At the end, he offered some important suggestions for improvement in corporate social responsibilities spending pattern and reporting.

The Chairman then opened the session for discussion and invited questions. It was a very inactive session. Both Dr. Dey and the Chairman answered all the questions. Dr. R.P.Banerjee also made his brief observations. At the end, Dr. Tanupa Chakraborty gave a hearty vote of thanks. (A full length of the paper will be published in the December issue of Indian Accounting Review).

PHOTO GALLERY --- SIXTH G.D.ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

SEVENTH G. D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Seventh G.D. Roy Memorial Lecture (for 2020) was held on Saturday, the 9th January  2021, at Science City (Mini) Auditorium along with a day-long National Conference on Contemporary Issues in Accounting and Finance. The distinguished speaker for the Memorial Lecture was Dr. Samirendra Nath Dhar, Professor of Commerce, and former Head of the Department of Commerce (three times) and former Head of the Department of Business Administration, University of North Bengal and his theme of presentation was Liquidity Balancing and Transaction Denial Imbroglios of Business Correspondents.

It is worthwhile to recollect the situation in the whole world due to Pandemic situation in 2019 and 2020. The Science City was closed during 2019 and 2020. With a resolution of the Executive Committee we met the Technical Officer of Science City, Mr. P. Satyanarayana, highlighting the necessity to build up confidence in the minds of delegates to come out of their homes and attend the Memorial Lecture and the National Conference. The Treasurer, Prof. Ashish Sana, the Secretary, Professor Dhrubarajan Dandapat and the Vice President, Professor R.P.Banerjee, were all very bold and supportive for holding the events in Science City. Mr. Satyanarayana appreciated the efforts of the IAA Research Foundation and mentioned that after two years it was the first event that was going to be held in Science City. Some of the distinguished delegates from other parts of the country, namely, Professor G. Soral of Udaipur, Professor Ranjan Kumar Bal of Bhubaneswar and Professor Samirendra Nath Dhar of Siliguri, all supported us by their kind presence in a difficult situation like the Pandemic. A little over 100 delegates attended the Memorial Lecture and the National Conference and on behalf of the IAA Research Foundation we express our gratefulness to all of them. The Foundation takes pride for the boldness of our members not only in academic activities but also in a risky situation like Pandemic. The brave-heart participants believed in the proverb that “God helps those who help themselves”.

We now come to Memorial Lecture which was in the pre-lunch session (10.30 – 11.30 a.m.) and chaired by Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, President of the Foundation. Though Professor Dhar is well-known to the delegates, as part of the rituals, he was introduced as a distinguished research scholar by Professor Dandapat. Professor Dhar introduced the topic in his usual style and stressed the need for deliberations of such an important topic as a G.D.Roy Memorial Lecture. Unfortunately, he could not meet the legendary research professor but heard his name while he was a student of graduate and post-graduate courses under the University of North Bengal. His way of presentation was simple and lucid but still penetrating to the audience. At the end of his presentation a lively discussion took place and some delegates raised several questions which were nicely dealt with by Professor Dhar. A hearty vote of thanks was offered by Dr Pinaki Ranjan Roy, Former Principal of Netaji Nagar Day College and a memento was presented to Professor Dhar by Professor R. P.Banerjee on behalf of the IAA Research Foundation.

An abridged version of Professor Dhar’s presentation is given below.

One of key strategies for enlarging the coverage of financial inclusion in India has been the introduction of the Business Correspondent model to deliver financial services as a low cost alternative channel to branch based banking for the poor and unprivileged population dwelling in the far flung rural areas. This study observes that activities involved in maintaining sufficient e- float and physical cash at the BC outlets to perform cash-in and cash-out transactions forms the crux of liquidity management problems. The onus to arrange liquidity lies with the BC agents as as they are responsible for operating the Customer Service Points with a condition that they will finance the Bank Settlement Account. The credibility and sustainability of agents depend to a larger extent in ensuring sufficient cash and e-float so that there are no transaction denials. The study on the basis of observational research and field surveys and examined whether transaction denials and customer dissatisfaction as a consequence of denials are in any way influenced by factors such as amount of e-float , transaction volatilities, rebalancing frequency, rebalancing time and bank support .

Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to screen and identify the factors and Structural Equation Modelling was built on the dependence relationships between the exogenous and endogenous constructs. It was found that the earnings of the Business Correspondent Agents which are principally based on commissions on the type and number of transactions, get impaired if transactions are denied due to liquidity problems. The more the denials, the less is the earnings of the BCAs and more is the loss of credibility and trust from the customers. The study observed that since penetration of financial inclusion in India is largely dependent on a vigorous last mile agent network model there is an urgent need to resolve the liquidity problems but ushering in changes of the system.

Prof. G.D. Roy Memorial Lecture was followed by the Plenary Session of the National  Conference, chaired by Prof. R. P. Banerjee, Chairman & Director of EIILM Kolkata. Keynote addresses were delivered by Prof. Ranjan Kumar Bal, Former President of Indian Accounting Association & Formerly of Utkal University on Institutionalization of CSR within Governance: A Primacy for Value Creation and Mr. Sushovan Sinha, Regional Director of RBI, In charge, WB & Sikkim, on Corporate Governance of Indian Banking System-- Way Forward.

In the post-lunch session, as many as eleven research papers were presented on different contemporary areas of accounting and finance in two technical sessions which were chaired by CMA Mr. Harijiban Banerjee, Former President, Institute of Cost Accountants of India and Prof. D.R.Dandapat, Secretary, IAA Research Foundation. The day long programme was ended with a hearty vote of thanks offered by Prof. Ashish Kumar Sana, Treasurer of IAA Research Foundation.

On behalf of the participants, Professor G. Soral and Professor Ranjan Kumar Bal, both past Presidents of IAA, thanked the organisers for holding the G.D. Roy Memorial Lecture and the National Conference  in such a difficult situation arising out of Pandemic.

EIGHTH G. D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Eighth G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was held on 27th September, 2021, from 2.30 to 3.30 p.m. jointly with EIILM-Kolkata at its Seminar Hall at 6, Waterloo Street, Kolkata-700 069. Dr. Sudhir S. Jaiswall, Associate Professor, Finance and Control Group, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and the Coordinator of its Financial Research and Trading Lab, was the distinguished speaker. He spoke on The Role of Tax Risk in CEO Compensation (in the U.S.) based on a paper co-authored with Dr. Arpita A. Shroff of University of Houston Downtown, USA. It is claimed to be the first study to examine and document the role of tax risk in CEO pay.

While the prior research examines the role of tax avoidance (lower tax rates) in CEO compensation, Sudhir and Arpita take a step further and examine the incremental role of tax risk, i.e. volatility in tax rates. They examine the following questions: Does tax risk play a role in CEO Compensation? If yes, does the prior average tax rate play a role in this association between tax risk and CEO compensation? The research questions are important in the current times as tax risk has become a major business risk in the recent decade.

To examine the research questions, they use a sample of 25,126 firm-year observations over a period of 1992 to 2019 from the ExecuComp database. Both standard deviation in annual cash ETR (cash effective tax rates) and the volatility in cash taxes paid are used to measure tax risk in the main tests. The empirical model controls for tax avoidance, firm performance, risk, size, growth, membership in the S&P 500 Index, CEO tenure, and fixed effects for CEO, industry, and year. They use pooled regression and robust standard errors clustered at firm level. According to them, tax risk plays an incremental role in CEO compensation. They find a positive and significant association between tax risk and CEO compensation after controlling for the role of tax avoidance. The results suggest that one standard deviation increase in the measure of tax risk is associated with an increase of 1.37 percent.

Next, the median value of average cash ETR is used in the sample (25.1 percent) to create two subsamples – low-tax firms and high tax firms. It is found that tax risk plays a significant role in the determination of CEO compensation in high-tax firms but no evidence of such association in the subsample of low-tax firms. Thus, current tax risk does not provide any additional premium to CEO compensation for firms that have had lower tax rates in the prior periods. In terms of economic effect, the results show that, compared to low-risk firms, CEOs of high-tax firms on average receive additional compensation for one standard deviation increase in the tax risk measure.

Finally, they conduct several robustness tests using other measures of tax risk specified in prior literature and the results are qualitatively similar to those of the main tests, although their economic significance is higher. They also perform additional tests for variable element of compensation and find the role of tax risk in variable CEO compensation (particularly stock grants and other components). However, they find no such association between tax risk and the fixed component of CEO compensation. Additional cross-sectional tests suggest that tax risk plays a role in CEO compensation in multinational and high leverage firms. Thus, the study contributes to the literature on CEO compensation by enriching the understanding on its determinants.

At the beginning, Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, who chaired the session, introduced the distinguished speaker and also the topic. The presentation was very simple but penetrating so much so that they promoted lively interaction. At the end, Professor Tanupa Chakraborty offered a hearty vote of thanks.

Before the Session started, Professor R.P. Banerjee, Director, EIILM-Kolkata, and Vice-President, IAA Research Foundation, sought permission from the Chair to give him a few minutes time to felicitate Prof. Bhabatosh Banerjee for his contribution to academics. He mentioned that it is the unanimous decision of the faculty members to take advantage of the presence of Prof. Banerjee and give Institute’s maiden Award to Prof. Bhabatosh Banerjee. The Director, EIILM-Kolkata, then presented a Plaque to Prof. Bhabatosh Banerjee which stated:

“Best Teacher” and
“Lifelong Contribution to Academics Award”.

Dr. Bhabatosh Banerjee in response thanked Prof. (Dr.) Banerjee and his colleagues for the selection. He expressed his gratefulness to the Director of the Institute, its faculty members and staff. The delegates present expressed their appreciation by a standing applause.

NINTH G. D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE

The Ninth G. D. Roy Memorial Lecture was held on 3rd September, 2022 during 11.00 am to 12.00 noon, organised jointly with EIILM-Kolkata at its Seminar Hall at 6, Waterloo Street, Kolkata 700069. Dr. M. Harunur Rashid, President Bangladesh Accounting Association, Former Professor of Accounting, Dhaka University, Bangladesh, former Vice-Chancellor (2007 – 2012), Presidency University, Dhaka, and one of the Ph.D. Scholars of Prof. G. D. Roy, was the distinguished speaker. He deliberated on The Role of Accounting in Changing Environment: Some Thoughts.

Introducing the Speaker
and the Theme

Prof. Rashid started his discussion with evolution of accounting mentioning that accounting has always been an essential part of human civilization since antiquity with its many-fold contribution in the management of resources for their beneficial use in economic and social progress and prosperity. Thereafter, he discussed how,in pursuance with societal transformation,accounting has continuously assumed the transition with every innovation to elevate the practice and profession in harmony with human urge for the discharge of accountability and good governance.

Felicitation

Presentation by Prof. Rashid

He mentioned that as technological innovation continues, human being seemingly leapfrogged ten years in a matter of month. This has thrown before accounting-a billion dollar question- how can accountants help position their functions and in turn help the economy and business navigate their way toward a more rewarding, sustainable future. He reminded that the call is already afloat for the discipline to navigate through new horizon with a focus on adaptation with appropriate technology and building skill-based human resources for the future. Internet of Things (IoT) driven Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) are some of the key areas of automation that are set to change the face of accounting operations, delivering efficiency, reducing errors, and optimizing workflows, while assisting professionals with real-time economic decision-making based on insights driven by accounting Data.Accounting is no longer the cold, stagnant industry that it once was. He concluded suggesting that accounting education system needs suitably revamped, and in view of the intimate relationship between teaching (education) and research, more emphasis should be placed on research, and a healthy relation with the accounting profession should be maintained with real-time economic data. This precisely represents the future of accounting-at the moment. Accounting is no longer the cold, stagnant industry that it once was. He concluded suggesting that accounting education system needs suitably revamped, and in view of the intimate relationship between teaching (education) and research,more emphasis should be placed on research, and a healthy relation with the accounting profession should be maintained.

TENTH G.D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE (02.09.2023)

INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE INCOME TAX IN DIGITAL ECONOMY: CHALLENGES AND INITIATIVES by Professor (Dr.) K Eresi, Former Chairman and Dean, Faculty of Commerce, Bangalore University

The Program started with lighting of lamp and Saraswati Bandana followed by the Memorial Lecture.

The International tax laws existing at present were designed on two fundamental elements namely ‘nexus' (physical presence) and ‘profit allocation‘ (arm's length principle). No doubt the laws based on these two elements served their purpose very well by eliminating double Taxation, stimulating global trade and providing tax certainty. But, these century old tax rules developed in ‘ Brick and Mortar ‘ economic environment could not address new tech based business models based on intangible and value driven products and services challenging both ‘nexus, and ‘ profit allocation ‘ rules.

The Multinational Enterprises ( MNEs) through their tax planning strategies started taking the advantage of tax avoidance through ‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting' (BEPS) to low tax or no tax jurisdiction. Even though It is difficult to determine total revenue loss , but, one estimate of OECD states that the cost of MNEs tax avoidance ranged from 4% - 6% working out to USD 100-240 billion specially to developing countries. Therefore, a strong need was felt to develop a tax eco- system that would encompass trade, manufacturing and digital businesses which is effective, predictable, and sustainable contributing for economic growth and global welfare. Accordingly, OECD/G-20 took the initiative of revamping international tax laws that would address fast growing cross border transactions including tech based digital businesses and also check the strategy of BEPS by MNEs in the world. This initiative is taken up from 2013 under project mode. Since then almost a decade now the OECD/G-20 is interacting with global economies by holding conventions and releasing public documents containing draft rules and inviting comments/suggestions. The stakeholders in the process included civil societies, parliaments, NGOs, academics and others. In fact the whole aim of the project is to move towards standardisation and stabilization of tax rules across the globe. The outcome of the project OECD/ G-20 Inclusive Framework so far is release of TWO pillar solutions outlining rates, threshold , and dates of implementation.

The Memorial Lecture was organized on 2nd September, 2023, at EIILM-Kolkata Campus at DN9, Sector V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700 091. Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, who chaired the session, congratulated the learned speaker for elaborating such a complex issue nicely before the delegates. There were a number of questions when the session was made open to the delegates and Professor Eresi answered each question to the satisfaction of the delegates.

Professor Dhrubaranjan Dandapat, Secretary of the IAA Research Foundation, thanked Professor Eresi for travelling such a long distance for the Memorial Lecture. He also thanked Professor R.P. Banerjee, Chairman and Director of EIILM-K, for making excellent arrangements.

ELEVENTH G.D. ROY MEMORIAL LECTURE [21.09.2024]

Philosophy of Accounting and the Changing Dimensions of Corporate Financial Reporting by Dr. Ananda Mohan Pal, Professor and Former Head Department of Business Management, University of Calcutta

This talk is my tribute to the memory of Professor G D Roy, intended to unveil the truth underlying the changes in the financial reporting in the light of basic concepts of accounting.

Over time, it is observed, that philosophy of accounting is open to accommodate interest of all the stakeholders of an economic unit operating in a society. On the contrary, financial reporting is getting more focussed to the owner-investors, i.e. the providers of risk capital only. Based on the entity concept, accounting equation stands as: Equity = Assets – Liabilities. When assets are greater than liabilities, equity is positive and interpreted as claim of the owner over the net assets of the firm. But when liabilities are greater than assets, leaving a negative balance of equity, it may not be simply interpreted as claim of the liabilities (creditors) over the equity (owner). The conversion from unlimited risk bearers to the modern shape of limited liability has taken place during last three centuries protecting shareholders at the cost of the creditors. The Framework 2000 of the ICAI recognises present and potential investors, employees, lenders, suppliers and other trade creditors, customers, governments and their agencies and the public as users of financial statements. The Conceptual Framework (2021) of the ICAI recognises only three user groups, (i) existing and potential investors, (ii) lenders and (iii) other creditors as primary users. The enterprises were encouraged to present Value Added Income statements in IAS 1 in 1997 version, but in the revised version of the IAS 1 starting from 2004, this encouragement disappeared, pushing value added statements outside the scope of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). A major lesson learned by accountants as a result of the Great Depression was that market values are fleeting. The outcome was a strengthening of the historical cost basis of accounting based on the concept of the firm as a going concern.

Ind AS 1 also requires management to prepare financial statements on a going concern basis. However, the trend in the twenty first century is to move steadily towards market-based exit value, away from historical cost or entity specific value-in-use, which is not consistent with going concern concept. Such inconsistencies make financial reports too complicated to the ordinary investors. Maffet (2012) distinguished between ordinary and sophisticated investors. Sophisticated investors are superior to the ordinary investors in interpreting the available information. Complicated general purpose financial statements lead to information advantage of the sophisticated investors over ordinary investors and higher abnormal return of the sophisticated investors at the expense of the ordinary investors. While accountability to all the stakeholders is ideal for accounting, it appears that the focus of financial reporting is narrowing down to primary users among all the stakeholders, to the investors of financial capital among the primary users and to the sophisticated investors among the investors.

Prof. Ananda Mohan Pal was requested to make his presentation first in view of constraint of time.

For the same reason, the phrase “philosophy of accounting” could not be elaborated by the learned speaker. Professor Bhabatosh Banerjee, who chaired the session, spoke a few words on “philosophy of accounting” and pointed out the compulsion of presentation of financial statements and their changing dimensions because of  societal and regulatory requirements. He thanked the learned speaker for suggesting a wonder topic for presentation and stressed the need for research by the members of the IAA Research Foundation.

IAR Endowment Fund

The Executive Committee decided in its meeting on 18th June, 2014 to raise the present Endowment Fund to meet printing, distribution and other expenses of IAR (estimated at about Rs..75,000 p.a. for two issues) by inviting donation from members and others a minimum amount of Rs.5,000/- per member which contribution will attract tax benefit under section 80-G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The target is to raise an additional fund of Rs.5,00,000. The AGM held on 26th July, 2014, approved the decision. Accordingly, members are requested to contribute generously to the IAR Endowment Fund by cheque in favour of IAA Research Foundation and send it to the Editor (Dr. Bhabatosh Banerjee, 164/78 Lake Gardens, Flat B-10, Kolkata-700 045) along with a forwarding letter giving details of the member concerned (viz. name as per PAN and mailing address). On request willing members may also get particulars of Foundation’s bank account for transferring donation through their respective bank accounts. The names of the donors will be displayed in the Foundation’s website which will be updated from time to time.

The present Fund position is given below for information of the members.

A. Amount invested till 31st March, 2014:
	Contributed by Late Professor H.S.Kulshrestha (one of the Founder members)	Rs.1,00,000
	Permanent and annual subscriptions from Institutional subscribers capitalized	Rs. 2,00,000
	Total		Rs. 3,00,000
	Put into FD with SBI, CU Branch, Rs. 3,00,000/ on 13.05.2013 for 03 Years @ 8.75% p. a.

B. Contributions received since 1st April, 2014:
	CA Mr. P.R. Ramesh (an EC member)	Rs.	1,00,000
	Prof. K.R. Sharma, Former Dean of Business Studies, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur	Rs.	50,000
	Prof. Belvered E.Needles, Jr. , DePaul University (life member of the Foundation)	Rs.	30,183
	CA Mr. G.P. Agrawal, Patron, IAARF	Rs.	21,000
	Prof. G. Soral, Director, MBA Programme, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur	Rs.	10,000
	CA Prof. Sunil Gandhi, Dept. of Commerce, Kalyani University	Rs.	10,000
	Dr. Badal Maity, Mahisadal Raj College, Vidyasagar University	Rs.	10,000
	Dr. Amit Kumar De, Prabhat Kumar College, Vidyasagar University	Rs.	10,000
	Mr. Amit Das, Asstt. Professor in Commerce, Surendranath Even. College, CU	Rs.	10,000
	Prof. Sharmistha Banerjee, MBM, Calcutta University	Rs.	5,000
	CA Mr. Sanjay Bhattacharya, (an EC member)	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Tarun Mandal, Rabin Mukherjee College, Calcutta University	Rs.	5,000
	Prof. P.K.Ghosh, Former VC, NBU	Rs.	5,000
	Mr. Amiya Kumar Nayak, Bagnan College, Howrah, CU	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Radhanath Pyne, HOD Commerce, SA Jaipuria College, CU	Rs.	5,000
	Mr. Suvankar Chakraborty, Asstt. Prof. in Commerce, Purash Kanpur College, C.U.	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Bibekananda Sarkar, B.B.College, Asansol, Burdwan University	Rs.	5,000
	Mr. Himadrish Chatterjee, Asst. Prof. in Commerce, Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Sanjib Kumar Basu, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata	Rs.	5,000
		Rs.	5,000
	Up to October 16, 2014	Rs.	3,01,183
	Invested Rs. 3, 00,000/- on 21.10.2014 in FD with SBI, Lake Gardens, for 4 years at 8.75% .
		------------------
	CA Mr. Nirupam Haldar, Former Chairman, EIRC of ICAI and former President, Institute of Internal Auditors of India	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Sudhansu Sekhar Mahapatra, Sikkim Govt. College, Gangtok	Rs.	5,000
	Dr. Tanupa Chakraborty, Dept. of Commerce, University of Calcutta	Rs.	5,000
	Mr. Kousik Kr. Rana, Assistant Professor, D.M.Vidyapith, 24 Parganas (S), C.U.	Rs.	5,000
	Mr. Sudhir S.K. Jaiswall, Guest Faculty, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.	Rs.	20,000
	Mr. Anil Kumar Saha, Associate Professor in Commerce, SA Jaipuria College, Calcutta University	Rs.	5,000
	Annual renewal fees capitalized	Rs.	5,000
	Collections (17th October 2014 to 25th March, 2015)	Rs.	50,000
		------------------
	Invested Rs.50,000/- on 25.03.2015 in FD with SBI, Lake Gardens, for 3 years at 8.5%	Rs.	50,000
	Mr. Amit Kumar Sen, VP, IAA Research Foundation	Rs.	10,000
	Dr. K. Eresi, VP, Visiting Professor, Bangalore University	Rs.	10,000
	Prof. Memcha Loitongbam, Director, Manipur Institute of Management Studies, Imphal	Rs.	5,000
	Bidyut Kana Gopesh Chandra Foundation, New Alipore, Kolkata-700 053	Rs.	50,000
	Dr. L.S. Porwal, Professor of Commerce (Retd.), Delhi University	Rs.	10,000
	Dr. Tanmoy Datta, Professor of Commerce (Retd.), Tripura University, Agartala	Rs.	10,000
	Prof. K.V. Achalapathy, Osmania University, Hyderabad	Rs.	10,000
	Prof. Ashish Sana, University of Calcutta, Director, CUCSE-CEFM	Rs.	5,000
	Prof. Ranjan Kumar Bal, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar	Rs.	5,000
	Prof. D.V. Ramana, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar	Rs.	5,000
	Prof. Sudhir K. Jaiswall, IIMC	Rs.	20,000
	Put into fixed deposit with SBI Lake Gardens at 7% for on 5 years on 22.3.2016	Rs.	1,33,000