Companies Act 2013 protects shareholders' interests: KPMG

Says Act brings modern regulations for the corporate sector and attempts to align with international requirements

The Companies Act 2013, expected to be fully operational by April 2014, goes a long way in protecting shareholders' interests and removes administrative burden in several areas, a KPMG study said.

The Act brings modern regulations for the corporate sector and attempts to align with international requirements, a KPMG- Assocham study on the new Companies Act said.

There are many areas which are subject to rules that are to be issued under the new Act. The scale of change can be assessed only after rules are finally issued and the devil could be in the details, the report said.

The Act would protect minority shareholders, investor protection and better framework for insolvency regulation, besides institutional structure, the report said.

The Act promises to substantively raise the bar on governance and purports to deal with relevant themes such as investor protection, fraud mitigation, inclusive agenda, auditor accountability, reporting framework, director responsibility and efficient restructuring, the report said.

The Act is likely to have far reaching consequences on all companies, as it has been influenced significantly by other recent developments in the corporate sector, especially those where stakeholder interests seemed to be compromised.