Truth & fairness of the auditing profession

The audit report is merely an opinion, not a certificate or a guarantee of anything

Until earlier this month, one of the most farcical professions was auditing. Under the Companies Act, almost all types of companies have to get audited. Then the charade begins. Auditors are supposed to be appointed by the owners — the shareholders — and not the management. But as anyone knows, in all private companies and most public limited ones, it is the promoter families that control both the management and the shareholding. In a tiny number of listed companies where promoters do not have a majority stake, only the management selects the auditor, and outside shareholders are too uninterested to