The word “Chartered Accountant” has got it own significance and the discussion that was made at the time of adoption of the nomenclature by the Joint Committee, supports the case of the 1st respondent-Institute the value and the significance that is being attached to the designation “Chartered Accountant” for the members of the Institute for use of the letters ‘C.A.’ and ‘F.C.A.’ after their names. When such is the position, with such a history and background for the adoption of the designation “Chartered Accountant” can we say that the 1st petitioner-Institute is entitled to confer certificates on its members so as to enable them to use the designation. ‘C.F.A.’. There is jugglery of the letters. ‘F.C.A.’ means a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ and it has got a universal recognition.
Whereas, ‘C.F.A.’ means ‘Chartered Financial Analyst’ and it shows that by using the abbreviated letters ‘C.F.A.’ the members of the 1st petitioner-Institute want it to be believed really that they have something to do with the chartered accountancy. The attempt made by them appears to my mind, to be a surreptitious attempt to trench upon the position of the members of the 1st respondent-Institute, who by reason of their association with the Institute of Chartered Accountants are entitled to calf themselves as “Chartered Accountants” and Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants. There is every possibility of the persons dealing in the Accountancy profession to be misled by the designation ‘C.F.A.’ leave alone common people, since the persons trained by the 1st petitioner-Institute have to work in. some field or the other connected with the accounts and auditing or with the financial institutions.
The designation “Chartered Accountant” has won world-wide acclaim as the hall-mark of professional excellence and by long course of time the members of the 1st respondent-Institute acquired aright to use the designation ‘C.A.’ and ‘F.C.A.’ particularly in the background and history for the adoption of the said designation. The letters ‘C.F.A.’ are akin to the letters ‘C.A.’ and ‘F.C.A.’ and they will naturally cause confusion in the minds of the persons that are connected with the 1st respondent-Institute and the accountancy profession. Moreover, the petitioners in their affidavit state that ‘CFA’ is not the designation conferred by the 1st petitioner-Institute. The 1st petitioner-Institute is only a Society registered under the A.P. (Telangana Area) Public Societies Act, 1350 Fasli. It has neither recognised by the Government of India nor established under any Statute unlike the 1st respondent-Institute. The 1st petitioner-Institute never sought for the recognition of the Central Government. No authorised Institute or University would desire its own degrees and qualifications to be by-passed by qualifications or degrees granted by unauthorised or unrecognised bodies or institutions privately constituted. The contention of the petitioners that other Indian Universities are conferring Degrees MCA and DCA which stand for Master of Computer Applications and Diploma in Computer Applications has no relevance and the other contention that unless the letters ‘C and ‘A’ are in juxtaposition, they cannot stand for Chartered Accountant and once they are separated and some other letter is interposed as in the case of ‘C.F.A.’ there can never be any association with the profession of CAs is not tenable. When the 1st petitioner-Institute is not a recognised one, it cannot confer any degree or certificate under the style “Chartered Financial Analysts” and the recipients also cannot use the designation ‘C.F.A.’ at the end of their names.
The mere fact that the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts is a global institute and it has been adopted in some other countries does not mean that they can use the designation. The petitioners have not produced any document to show that the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of U.S.A. has been recognised by the Government of India or the 1st respondent-Institute. The idea in forming an Institute may be a good idea but as Plato said, all good ideas become good not because of their inherent worth but rather because of who takes them up. Assuming for a moment that the Financial Analysts could be made to see that certification by the 1st petitioner-Institute was not for personal aggrandisement but rather to give their work the mental discipline which requires to achieve professionalism, they need not have the suffix ‘C.F.A’ at the end of their names. Besides, there was no universal acceptance for the Certificate issued by the 1st petitioner-Institute unlike the 1st respondent-Institute. According to the petitioners, the Institute has made enormous strides over the several years of its existence in the field of financial analysis and there is absolutely no doubt that further considerable progress can and will be achieved. However, this Court is not called upon to use any map or compass to assess the achievement of that progress. It is significant to note that the 1st petitioner-Institute was registered in 1984 under the name of ‘Institute of Certified Financial Analysts’ and gradually it was changed by addition of the words “of India”. Subsequently, the word ‘certified’ was substituted by the word ‘Chartered’. Perhaps the petitioner-Institute wanted to bring its name close to the name of the 1st respondent-Institute. It may also be a reason for changing the name because the Joint Committee exhibited the use of ‘Certified Accountant’ and ‘Certified Auditor’ and this must have made the organisers of the 1st petitioner-Institute to change the same into ‘Chartered Institute’.
SOURCE : (1991) 1 ALT 87- ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT-THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYSTS OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. THE COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA AND OTHERS -Decided on : 21-11-1990
