About Us
BIRTH AND GROWTH OF THE KUMBAKONAM BRANCH OF THE ICAI
The Kumbakonam Branch of SIRC of ICAI was inaugurated in September 1980.
CA. Sri (Late) G. Narayanaswamy, a native of Kumbakonam was elected to the Central Council of the ICAI
in the year 1979 was the architect of the efforts of various members to get a Branch of the ICAI to this
Temple Town. CA. G. Suryanarayanan, during the electioneering process had an opportunity to meet
Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy and hand over the letter addressed to the SIRC of the ICAI requesting for a
branch of the ICAI at Kumbakonam. While there was no response for this letter from the ICAI, Shri CA. G.
Narayanaswamy with a copy of this letter brought the subject of opening a branch in Kumbakonam in
the very first meeting he attended of the Central Council of the ICAI and also with Shri CA Y.H. Malegam
as the then President of the ICAI. It is a day which had to be written in gold where in Shri CA. G.
Narayanaswamy was continuously talking by telephone to Shri CA G. Suryanarayanan to collect
information about the activities of the members in Kumbakonam for replying to the queries raised by his
colleagues in the Council as to why a branch is needed in Kumbakonam. Before the day ended Shri CA. G.
Narayanaswamy was able convince the Central Council of the ICAI the necessity of a branch at
Kumbakonam and got the approval of the Central Council of the ICAI. He immediately shared the good
news with Shri CA. G. Suryanarayanan.
Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy was the Central Council Member for three consecutive terms (1979 to 1988) and during his tenure he ensured that all the then Presidents of the ICAI visited the Kumbakonam Branch to participate in a Meeting/Seminar held by the Branch.
Till the year 1991, the Branch was housed in rented premises. Somewhere in 1988, the members of the Branch discussed a proposal to have an own building to house the Branch, it was again Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy encouraged CA. G. Suryanarayanan to search for a building in the heart of the town. He thereafter personally visited to see the selected site which was an old tiled roofed house. After visiting the site Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy assured the members of the Branch that he would obtain a matching grant from the Institute (which he did) for the amount contributed by the members to purchase the premises. The ICAI gave a grant of 50% of the purchase price, and the balance was collected as contributions from members of the Branch. The members’ contribution was fixed based on their years of practice/service. Members contributed liberally with the matching grant from the ICAI resulting in the registration of the Building in the name of the Branch. The role of Shri CA. G. Kunchithapatham in getting the property registered deserves very special mention.
Till his last breath, Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy took a lot of interest in the growth of the Branch. Any language is bereft of words to explain the interest taken by Shri CA. G. Narayanaswamy in having the branch of the ICAI at Kumbakonam and also ensuring its progress.
A meeting was called on the evening of the day of registration in the same old building and CA. Sri G. Suryanarayanan proposed the Construction of a single-storied building for the Branch at a cost of Rs.4 lakhs. This proposal was unanimously approved by the Members. The role of Late Shri CA. V. Narayanan, the then Chairman of the City Union Bank Limited and CA. Shri (Late) T.S. Venkatasubban and CA. Shri P. Vaidyanathan is laudable. The construction of the building was completed and the New Building was declared opened on 26-04-1991 by CA. Sri, the then President of the Institute.
Shri CA. G. Suryanarayanan, was the Secretary for 8 years (since the inception of the Branch) and three years thereafter as the Chairman of the Branch. It was in his tenure as the Chairman the construction of the ground floor was completed. CA. Shri (Late) T.S.Venkatasubban the subsequent Chairman of the Branch mooted the proposal for the construction of the First Floor of the Building in a Conference Hall would be housed. City Union Bank Limited (a bank from Kumbakonam) and Shri P. Vaidyanathan sponsored the cost of construction of the entire floor which was named as “CITY UNION BANK INTEGRATED ENTERPRISES HALL”. Shri CA. P. Vaidyanathan made the contribution in memory of his late father and the doyen of the profession Shri CA. N. Panchapagesan.
The role of CA. Shri (Late) S. Venkataraman who was the founder Chairman of the Branch, CA. Shri M. Mahalingam, CA. Shri CA S. Thyagarajan in the initial 10 years were energy boosters for the Branch to take this shape. All through these years CA. Shri VR. Arunachalam held the post of the Treasurer of the Branch.
It is highly commendable since the inception of the Branch the Chairman, the other office bearers and the members of the Managing Committee of the Branch in their respective terms zealously contributed their might to keep the Branch active and energetic to serve the members and students alike.
