ICAI Ushers in a New Era of Digital Governance: Launches Mandatory ‘E-Diary’ to Transform CA Practical Training

In a decisive leap towards modernizing the Chartered Accountancy profession in India, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has announced the nationwide implementation of the E-Diary (Digital Practical Training Diary).

This landmark digital initiative, effective from January 1, 2026, is now mandatory for all CA students commencing their articled training. By replacing traditional manual record-keeping with a sophisticated, cloud-based tracking system, the ICAI aims to standardize training quality, enhance transparency, and ensure that the next generation of Indian Chartered Accountants is future-ready.

The Strategic Shift: From Manual Logs to Digital Competency Mapping

For decades, the “Article Diary” has been the fundamental record of a CA student’s three-year practical training journey. However, the manual nature of these records often led to inconsistencies, delayed reviews, and a lack of real-time insight into the trainee’s skill development.

Recognizing the digital revolution sweeping across global professional services, the ICAI Board of Studies (Operations) and the Members and Student Services Directorate developed the E-Diary. This is not merely a digitization of paper records; it is a strategic tool designed to align with the ICAI Competency Framework.

The E-Diary serves as a bridge between the theoretical knowledge acquired in exams and the practical expertise gained on the ground, ensuring that every Articled Assistant receives exposure that meets global standards.

How the E-Diary Ecosystem Works

The E-Diary is fully integrated into the ICAI’s existing Self-Service Portal (SSP), ensuring a seamless user experience without the need for new credentials. The workflow is designed to be rigorous yet user-friendly:

1. Structured Daily Recording Gone are the days of filling out diaries retrospectively at the end of the year. Trainees must now record their attendance and specific tasks performed on a daily basis. The system captures the “what, when, and how long” of every assignment, creating a granular database of experience.

2. The Fortnightly Validation Cycle To ensure data accuracy and timely mentorship, the system enforces a strict fortnightly cycle:

• Submission: Trainees submit their logs every two weeks. The system’s logic automatically validates entries for completeness, flagging any missing data before submission.
• Principal Review: Once submitted, the Principal receives a notification to review the work logs.
• The “7-Day” Protocol: If a Principal suggests changes, the trainee has seven days to rectify and resubmit. Crucially, to prevent administrative bottlenecks, the system incorporates a “Deemed Approval” mechanism: if a Principal does not act on a re-submitted log within seven days, the system automatically approves it.

3. Integration with Compliance The platform is intelligently linked with Form 109 (regarding termination of training). This ensures that a student’s training history is permanently and accurately locked in the institute’s records, eliminating disputes regarding leave or tenure.

Leadership Perspective

Speaking on the launch of this transformative tool, CA. Charanjot Singh Nanda, President, ICAI, emphasized the dual benefits of efficiency and quality assurance:

“The E-Diary will be a digitally approved and authenticated record of an articled trainee’s practical experience. It enables students to clearly demonstrate the tasks performed during training and the areas in which they have developed expertise. This digital platform will not only save valuable manhours for both principals and students but also brings greater transparency, timely approvals and helps identify new and emerging areas of training, making articled training more structured, efficient, and future-ready.”

Impact on Stakeholders

The E-Diary promises to revolutionize the engagement model between the Principal (Employer) and the Articled Assistant (Student).

Empowering the CA Student

• Self-Correction & Skill Mapping: The E-Diary acts as a mirror to the student’s professional growth. By reviewing their own logs, a student can see, for example, that they have spent 80% of their time on Auditing but only 5% on Taxation. This insight empowers them to request diverse work, ensuring a well-rounded skillset.
• Transparency in Stipends: In a major move for financial transparency, the system records and displays stipend details once paid (during the first fortnight), serving as a verified proof of earnings.
• Professional Discipline: The requirement for daily logging instills a sense of time management and accountability—soft skills that are crucial for a successful professional career.

Strengthening the Principal’s Oversight

• Data-Driven Mentorship: Principals can now view a dashboard of their firm’s training activities. They can instantly identify if a trainee is overloaded or underutilized, allowing for better resource allocation.
• Quality Assurance: The data allows firms to monitor the quality of training being imparted. It facilitates a move away from ad-hoc task assignment to a structured training roster.
• Reduced Compliance Burden: The shift to digital approvals eliminates physical storage requirements and the administrative fatigue of signing hundreds of manual pages, while MIS reports provide instant compliance status.

The Road Ahead

With the launch of the E-Diary, ICAI reaffirms its position as a global leader in accounting education. By harnessing the power of data and digital workflows, the Institute is ensuring that the “CA” designation continues to represent not just academic excellence, but robust, verified, and diverse practical experience.

For more information, members and students are encouraged to log in to the Self-Service Portal (SSP) at the ICAI website.

About ICAI

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body set up by an Act of Parliament under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for the regulation and development of the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India. The Institute functions under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. With over 15 Lakh Members and Students, today ICAI is the largest professional accountancy body in the world. ICAI has a wide network of 5 Regional Councils and 185 Branches within India and a global presence with 54 Overseas Chapters and 31 Representative Offices spanning 85 cities across 47 Countries worldwide.