ICAI has made a digital E-Diary mandatory for CA students starting articleship from January 1, 2026. The platform will record attendance, work done and stipend details, aiming to bring transparency and standardisation to articled training.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) recently made a significant announcement with regard to the articled training system, which is soon going to change in a major way. CA students who start their article training from January 1, 2026, will now be required to maintain a digital diary named E-diary.

This is a positive step for a move away from manual documentation and is aimed at standardization and accuracy in the training of articled clerks in the country. According to ICAI, the E-Diary will serve as a central digital record of an articled trainee’s day-to-day work and learning progress.

Under the new system, trainees will submit details of the tasks they have performed on a fortnightly basis. These entries will be checked by the system for completeness before being forwarded to the principal. Principals will review the submissions and can suggest changes, if required.

Trainees will then have seven days to make corrections and resubmit the entries. The platform will also allow trainees to access past entries, track approval status, and edit or delete entries before final submission.

The E-Diary will also digitally capture stipend details, which must be updated within the first fortnight of payment. ICAI said this would help ensure better compliance with stipend norms and reduce disputes. The platform has been integrated with the Self-Service Portal (SSP) and linked with Form 109 in case of termination, ensuring that training records align with ICAI’s existing guidelines.

According to ICAI, this system will ensure some level of standardisation in training quality, and students will get a better idea about their experience in subjects like audit, taxation, and consultancy. Self-appraisals related to tasks will aid trainees in learning deficiencies and targeting skill sets accordingly. Principals will get improved monitoring and mentoring with E-Diary because they can track attendance and allocation related matters instantly.

The digitisation of the entire process is also aimed at ensuring that paperwork is minimized and that administrative work for these firms is simplified and that articleship is made more streamlined and transparent for future students opting for CA.