ICAI comes up with UDIN for chartered accountants

In order to prevent the involvement of non-authorised persons in the certification and attestation process of financial statements, the Professional Development Committee of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has introduced a mechanism of Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) which adds credibility to the documents as well as the certifications done by practicing chartered accountants in the nation.

Senior Practicing Chartered Accountant and Institution of Chartered Accountants of India Mangaluru branch Vice Chairman S S Nayak said that UDIN was generated for every document certified and attested by a practicing chartered accountant. "This number helps to secure and authenticate the document, by preventing non-authorised persons from certifying the documents, in the guise of chartered accountants."

The Income Tax, GST and Company Laws stress on the need for a genuine CA to certify the finance statements against misrepresentations. Therefore, attestation by a CA is very significant for the stakeholders. It instills a sense of surety among the investors by proving the authenticity of the documents. The UDIN helps to achieve the same, Nayak said.

"The 15-digit UDIN is a combination of the membership number of the registered chartered accountant attesting the document/certificate, the date of issue of the certificate and the system-allotted serial number of the document. The UDIN is generated for every document certified and attested by a practicing CAs registered with the UDIN portal: udin.icai.org. Registration with UDIN has been made mandatory with effect from February 1, 2019," Nayak added.

The portal makes it possible for the regulators as well as the stakeholders to check the authenticity of the certified documents. The misrepresented documents can also be traced by uploading the documents on this portal. The unauthorised persons will not be able to upload documents on the portal, he added.