The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has partnered with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (O/o C&AG) to launch new Certificate Courses for Panchayats and Municipal Bodies Accountants. These courses are available for registration throughout the year on a dedicated platform at lba.icaiarf.org.in and are delivered entirely online, providing the flexibility to participate from any location. The offerings include two levels each for the Certificate Course for Accountants of Panchayats, targeting Gram Panchayats at Level 1 and Zilla & Block Panchayats at Level 2, as well as the Certificate Course for Accountants of Municipal Bodies, with Level 1 aimed at Town Panchayats and Level 2 designed for Municipal Corporations & Municipalities. Each participant may enrol in only one course at a time, and these courses are accessible to all 18 years or older students who have completed class 12 for a registration fee of Rs 590.
To accommodate a wide range of participants, the courses are offered in ten languages: Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Odiya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, and Telugu. Although the courses are online, examinations are conducted offline. They are organised by the Board for Local Bodies Accountants Certification (BLoAC) under the auspices of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF), with the Committee on Public and Government Financial Management (CPGFM) of ICAI responsible for the development of the course study materials.
The initiative also includes a public listing of successful candidates to enable their participation in preparing accounts for panchayats and municipal bodies, aiming to ensure timely account preparation and audits in line with the recommendations of the XVth Finance Commission. This approach is designed to improve the transparency and efficiency of financial management within local government bodies.
