The Department of Commerce came into existence in 1948 headed by Prof.Gopalan, with three faculties including Mr. R. Venkatraman and Mr. M.Muthusamy. Rev. Fr. K. K. Mathew SJ joined a year later. The year 1949, saw the formation of "Commerce Association" that is meant to facilitate and provide space for students' overall development, with C. Balakrishna Menon and K. R. Doraisamy as its first secretaries. The seeds sown and planted that year still continues to reverberate in nurturing and honing innate talents of student community.
Academic excellence is the hall mark of Commerce Department. In the very first year of inception, the Department registered an impressive record of pass percentage in the exam conducted by the then University of Madras. After a short hiatus between 1954 and 1957, guided by stewardship of Rev. Fr. Erhart, Commerce Department witnessed a resurgence, becoming more vibrant in the pursuit of academic excellence by producing a numbers of Chartered Accountants & Cost Accountants and other professionals who occupy high positions driving the destiny of various government offices and companies. In 1957, the baton of headship was passed on to Prof.Bennis Fernandez, ably assisted by renowned teachers of par excellence: Prof.M. P. Vellore, Mr. R. Venkatraman FCA, and Rev. Fr. K. P. Joseph SJ. Prof.Veerabahu joined the commerce battalion in 1950 and served till 1990.
Prof.Bennis Fernandez was the longest serving HoD (31 years) in the history of St.Joseph's College and after his retirement in 1988, Prof. M. P. Vellore became the Head of the department of commerce. He was once the most revered teacher of commerce. He was instrumental in starting one year part time computer programming course teaching FORTRAN IV with WATF IV with the enrolment of 146 students in 1974. Students wrote programmes using punched cards using a hand punching machine and verified using a verifier. These programmes were collected in programme decks and run in the IBM Computer 370/155 of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Students conducted ratio analysis for 40 companies at national level using computer.
Due to heavy demand for Commerce course, one more section was added during late 1960s. Project work which is compulsory now has its origin way back in 1970s in commerce department. In 1976 JOCOPS (Joseph's Cooperative Stores) was started under the leadership of Prof.Victor Louis Anthuvan to imbibe cooperative values and principles in accordance to 20-point programme introduced by the Union Government of India. Stationeries were sold at discounted prices and 20% dividend was given to share-holders and it also donated Rs. 300 in the next year that was used to distribute note books to the kin of non-teaching staff. Later, it was re-christened as JOCBOD.
To cater to the needs of primarily the working professionals to get B.Com degree, evening section was started in 1973. Yet another feather was added to the Commerce Department in the form of M.Com that was started in the year 1988. Com Carnival- an inter collegiate intellectual competition, first of its kind in this part of the country, was started in 1995 and completed 25 years by providing stages to students across the state to show case their innate talents. Likewise, Shift II has been conducting "Bizmen Forum" for the past 15 years.
Early 2000 saw a burst of research activities in the Department. This was augmented by Dr.M.Victor Louis Anthuvan getting the first Doctorate Degree and guideship from the department, followed by his pupil indulging in research leading to PhD. First among them are Dr. F. R. Alexander Pravin Durai, Dr.Francis Gnanasekar, Dr.G.John and a host of other professors in the department. Consequently, the Department became a renowned centre for research and at present there are 10 research guides who have produced more than 70 PhDs and 30 are currently doing.
Publish or perish is the mantra in the realm of HE. Staff of Commerce Department are second to none by publishing books and articles in renowned journals of national and international importance.
Almost every year, staff of commerce department get funded projects to do major and minor research projects and to conduct seminars and conferences. Dr. S. Joseph Xavier and Dr. G. John have completed two Major Research Projects funded by ICSSR. Dr. M. Julius Ceasar, and Dr. V. Bastin Jerome and Dr.L.Georgia have completed Minor Research Projects and conducted several seminars, conferences and FDPs funded by ICSSR and other funding agencies.
The Department also gave birth to a number new programmes which after sometimes become independent Departments: BCom- Computer Applications in 2008, MCom-CA in 2011, BCom (Honours) in 2020, BCom-Strategic Finance in 2024 and BCom Business Analytics in 2024.
The Department also played a pivotal role in establishing two centres of excellence namely: ICAI accredited centre for foundation courses which was initiated by Rev. Dr. Andrew, principal then and JITE ( St.Joseph's Institute for Tally Education) - the only official Centre for Training and Assessment(TAC) in Trichy District, by signing an MOU with Tally Education Private Ltd spearheaded by Dr. G. John who is its Centre Head.
Feeling the pulse of the Job Market requirements, BCom-Business Analytics was started with a first batch of students joining in June 2024. Business analytics is used in various industries to improve operations, enhance customer satisfaction, increase sales, and reduce costs. It has a wide range of practical applicability in marketing, finance, supply chain management, and many other areas. Business analytics is crucial because it enables data-driven decision making, enhances efficiency, manages risks, and provides customer insights. It gives organizations a competitive edge, drives revenue growth, and measures performance effectively. By leveraging data, businesses can make smarter decisions, streamline operations, improve customer satisfaction, and stay ahead of competitors. In essence, business analytics turns data into valuable insights, leading to better business decisions. To the achieve these objectives, courses like Python Programming, Data Visualisation, Machine Learning, Power BI, Marketing Analytics, Financial Analytics, and HR Analytics with sufficient exposure of Practicals will be taught.
