Cost Accountants and Cost Records are not required....Why?

We are the guards of the Indian economy and we keep a check over the manipulative trade practices.Cost Accountants and Cost accounting profession is neglected. Well injustice to our profession was happening to our profession for more than a decade.  There are many reasons for which our profession is being neglected and downgraded.  We Cost Accountants work closely with the government and providing many useful reports which needs no introduction.  Our various cost accounting reports are being used by the government to design their Budgets and Planned expenditures. Then why Cost Accountants and Cost Accounting does is being neglected.  We are neglected since we are the ones who protect the Indian economy from any scam. Currently we are again trying to prove the benefits of the cost accounting records and cost accountants to the society. We are not recognized in the Indian Taxation act in various segments too. Well the anwere to these are interlinked with the various segments of this article. In this article I have tried to depict a part of the reason behind why we are again fighting for our identity.

The rising Non Performing Assets and story behind it….

 Currently you must be aware that Indian companies are facing the heat of slow down and due to these debt levels of the companies have swelled. Finally the destination of these debts is now the Non performing Assets of the Banks have swelled. Statistics of the Gross NPAs as on September 30, 2013 stood at Rs 2,29,007 crore, 27 per cent higher as compared to Rs 1,79,891 crore as of March 31, 2013 for 40 listed banks, Out of the total forty listed banks, fourteen banks have reported more than 50% jump in net NPAs during these six months. Now Non Performing Assets means that companies are unable to pay back the money to the Banks. These funds are public money which has been collected from the common people through taxes (indirect as well direct taxes). As a percentage of total loans, nonperforming assets at Indian banks climbed to 4.2% in September, up from 2.4% in 2009, according to the latest data available from India's central bank. When the NPA happens the money is bad debt which cannot be recovered. This money gets added up to the government liabilities books and hence in order to recover this money again the Government hikes taxes through budgets and non budget policies  which finally lead to increase in inflation. Now what are the pains of inflation is quite well known to everyone hence I don’t need to explain any more. According to ASSOCHAM there are many other causes which are also responsible for accumulation of NPAs like faulty credit management, lack of professionalism in the workforce, unscientific repayment schedule, mis-utilisation of loans by borrower, lack of timely legal solution to cases, political interference at local levels and waiver of loans by government. Now if cost accountants and their records are abolished then calculate the benefits and the owners  of the benefits.

Cost Accounting reports helps to Unmask Cost manipulation..

Now the question comes why cost accountants are not required and even if they are required where they fit in?. If cost accountants come then their cost report would help to unmask the real reasons behind this NPA. Most of the money has been utilized to pay exorbitant salaries of the corporate honcho’s. We all know that profitability have declined of the corporate India but at the same time cost have also increased. If the cost of production data is being analyzed we will witness that extensive price and cost manipulation has been done.  

Moreover the cost accounting records helps the government to access the raw materials which are imported and in accordance to that develop the industries within India related to those imported raw materials and also design the taxation of indirect taxes on those product so that import of those materials don’t affect the balance trade of Indian economy. Now if cost accountants and their reports are scrapped then it would be easy for the corporate to manipulate the numbers and increase the prices and make windfall profit. Cost records restrict and controls these manipulative practices. If cost accounting records are removed then please calculate the immense profitability these companies are going to make. Also calculate the immense pressure the common people will face from manipulative price increases which will damage the economic growth of India as well as wealth of the common people. In short the common people would be squeezed. Now if Cost Accountants are included in banking system then it would help the RBI to design the road map for managing these NPA. But Cost Accountants were never included in Banking segment neither they are recognized in the Indian taxation Acts.

Cost Accounting records would help the government to keep a check over the Inflation and manipulative trade practices of the corporate. This is reason why cost accountants and cost accounting records are not required. Cost records if abolished would help to make huge import of cheap goods which will kill the domestic industry but will make a windfall gain for the importers.

Quick Glance at the NPA numbers…

If one looks at the impaired assets ratio, which also takes into account restructured advances and write-offs, then the asset quality is worse for the non-priority sector. The impaired assets ratio for the priority sector is about 9%, while for the non-priority sectors, it is close to 13%.The largest beneficiaries of these largesse from lenders have been big firms. About 91% of total restructured loans on 31 March was accounted by large and medium industries. Thus, about 14% of large and medium industry loans have been recast compared with 5.8% of overall bank loans. The deterioration in asset quality is the highest for the industries segment, and within it large and medium enterprises, a segment which accounts for nearly half of the bank credit. According to ASSOCHAM Restructured accounts have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 47.86 per cent in public sector banks. The corresponding figures for private sector and foreign banks are 8.12 per cent and 25.48 per cent respectively. Net non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of 40 listed banks jumped by 38% or around Rs. 35424 crore in the first six months of current financial year, according to a study done by NPAsource.com, a portal which focuses on resolution of stressed assets. Net NPAs of these banks stood at Rs. 93109 crore as on March 31 this year. Top public sector banks like State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank, IDBI Bank and Union Bank have all reported more than 30% rise in net NPAs during this period. HDFC Bank and SBI were among the large banks that recorded a sharp increase (in percentage terms) in net NPAs. Out of the total 40 listed banks, 14 banks have reported more than 50% jump in net NPAs during these six months.

Well I hope I was able to justify myself with the rationales behind why cost accountants are neglected and why cost records are not required.