Page 2 - Auditors

SR Batliboi, an Adani Group auditor and EY member firm, faces NFRA inquiry

The National Financial Reporting Authority, or NFRA, has in recent weeks started an inquiry into one of the member firms of EY in India

Sebi extends dispatching period of hard copies of statements till Sept 2024

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday extended the relaxation to entities with listed non-convertible securities from dispatching physical copies of the financial statements to the holders of such securities till September 30, 2024. Earlier, the regulator had given similar relaxations to such entities till September 2023. Sebi's extension comes after the Ministry of Corporate Affairs last month provided similar relaxations to entities from dispatching physical copies of financial statements, including board's report, auditor's report or other documents. "Consequently, it has been decided to relax, up to September 30, 2024, the requirements of regulation 58 (1)(b) of the Sebi Listing Regulations," according to the circular issued by the markets regulator on Friday. Under the regulation 58 (1)(b) of the Sebi Listing Regulations, an entity with listed non-convertible securities will have to send a hard copy of statement containing the salient features of all the documents to those

DHFL branch audits: NFRA penalises 18 auditors, debars them for 6-12 months

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has imposed penalties on 18 auditors and also debarred them for varying periods for lapses with respect to audits of various branches of housing finance company DHFL. Penalties totalling Rs 18 lakh or Rs 1 lakh each has been imposed on the auditors for their professional misconduct, according to 18 separate orders passed by the regulator. Also, they have been debarred for a period of six months to one year from "being appointed as an auditor or internal auditor or from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company or body corporate". Out of the 18 auditors, 4 have been debarred for 6 months and the remaining 14 auditors have been restrained for 1 year. Following media reports of alleged siphoning of public money of around Rs 31,000 crore and the Enforcement Directorate's reported action in April 2020 on an alleged banking fraud of about Rs 3,700 crore by the

Adani group appoints new auditor for its main UK subsidiaries: Report

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Adani group has switched the auditor of its main UK subsidiaries to the smaller London-based firm Ferguson Maidment & Co after previous auditor Crowe UK resigned in March, FT reported.

Auditors should embrace technology, contribute to nation building: FM

Observing that the next 25 years are 'critical' for India to achieve developed nation status, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday appealed to auditors to embrace technology and educate smaller companies to grow. The Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister remarked that the country has progressed at many levels in the last 20-25 years and even the World Bank report has said India has achieved in the last decade what it could not be achieved in 60 years. "I am talking to veterans of this profession. You are one of the oldest registered bodies. I would think my meeting with you all is not just only to celebrate the 90 years, but also to say celebrating at a time when this profession has to take newer responsibilities," she said at the 90th-anniversary celebrations of The Society of Auditors here. Sitharaman pointed out that the practices of chartered accountants were going through a lot of change, globally and said that even some of the audience gathered at the venue had alrea

Once Satyam, twice shy: Why auditors quitting big clients is complicated

The auditing community feels the burden of increased regulatory oversight, user expectations, and media activism

TMS Ep500: Auditors quitting, loan recovery, markets, TMS behind the scene

From Byju's to Adani, why are auditors quitting? Did a bad loan recovery process push Nitin Desai to suicide? Do defence-related stocks have more firepower? What's goes behind the scene of Team TMS?

Deloitte quit after not getting auditorship of other group companies: APSEZ

Deloitte was not willing to continue as APSEZ's statutory auditor and, therefore, it was agreed to amicably end the client-auditor contractual relationship

When auditors quit, know things are not as projected: Cong on Adani issue

The Congress on Saturday hoped the SEBI report on Adani would answer the questions raised by Supreme Court's Expert Committee and wondered when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the issue. In May, the apex court had granted the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) time till August 14 to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group. Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh cited Deloitte Haskins and Sells announcing their decision to quit as auditors for Adani Ports and SEZ and said, "When statutory auditors repeatedly quit, you know that things are not as they are projected". "Pradhan Mantri chuppi todiye (Prime Minister break your silence)," he said on X, previously known as Twitter, on the Adani issue. In a statement, Ramesh alleged, "Shady transactions by the PM's favourite business group are reportedly leading Deloitte Haskins and Sells to take the unusual step of resigning as auditor for .

Adani Ports auditor Deloitte plans to resign after flagging concerns

The Adani Group has previously said it's compliant with Indian laws and welcomes Sebi's investigation

Audit regulator NFRA imposes 1-year ban, slaps fine on auditor for lapses

Audit regulator the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh and a one-year ban on an auditor for alleged professional misconduct in the audit of Anshu's Clothing Ltd for 2015-16. During FY2015-16, Anshu's Clothing's, now known as Aditri Gems & Jewels Ltd, shares were listed on BSE and Metropolitan Stock Exchange. In its order on Thursday, the regulator said it had levied a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Sachin Kansal. He is the proprietor of S Kansal & Associates and statutory auditor of Anshu Clothing for 2015-16. Besides, Sachin was also prohibited for one year from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company or body corporate during the debarment period, it added. The order came after NFRA received information from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) regarding irregularities observed in the financial statements of the company by the Financial Reporting Review Board .

Auditors should follow due process; auditing is not ticking: NFRA chief

Auditors should follow the due process rather than just rely on expert opinions, NFRA Chairperson Ajay Bhushan Prasad Pandey said on Friday and emphasised that auditing should not be just a "ticking" exercise. Amid instances of auditing lapses at companies and the regulator taking action against erring auditors, Pandey also said that audit documents should evidence that due process has been done. "I would like to assure the audit fraternity that we are not here to be kind of a villian, we are here to assist you and improve the system," he said while speaking at an industry event here. While asserting that trust in the financial reporting system is very important, the chief of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) said, "audit should not be just ticking audit... It should be thinking audit". The watchdog has around 7,000 companies, including unlisted ones, under its purview. According to him, it has been noticed that there is very excessive reliance by auditors on the .

Auditors must follow process, auditing must not be ticking exercise: NFRA

Audit regulator NFRA's chief Ajay Bhushan Prasad Pandey on Friday said auditors should follow the due process and auditing should not be just a "ticking" exercise. Highlighting the importance of financial reporting, he said that audit documentation should speak for themselves. "Audit should not be just ticking audit... It should be thinking audit," Pandey said. The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) chief also said that trust in the reporting system is very important. He was speaking at a conference here organised by industry body Assocham.

Resignation does not absolve Auditor of onus of reporting fraud: NFRA

The NFRA in a circular has said that it has noticed that auditors are not fulfilling their statutory responsibilities relating to reporting of fraud as required by the Companies Law

NFRA slaps Rs 1.10 cr fine, imposes ban on two auditors, one audit firm

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has imposed a ban as well as penalties totalling Rs 1.10 crore on three entities, including two auditors, for alleged professional misconduct in connection with the audit of Giri Vidhyuth (India) Ltd for 2019-20. Giri Vidhyuth (India) Ltd (GVIL) is a subsidiary of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL). The case pertains to diversion of funds worth Rs 3,535 crore from seven subsidiary companies of CDEL to Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estate Ltd (MACEL), an entity owned and controlled by the promoters of CDEL. After markets watchdog Sebi shared its investigation report in April 2022, the audit regulator started probing the professional misconduct of the auditors of GVIL. Separately, NFRA imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on Sundaresha & Associates and slapped a two-year ban on the audit firm. This debarment period of Sundaresha will start after the completion of two years of debarment period imposed by NFRA through its order in April in the case

NFRA imposes five-year ban, Rs 5 lakh penalty on auditor for lapses

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) on Friday slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh and a five-year ban on Rakesh Puri for alleged professional misconduct in connection with the audit of Sun and Shine Worldwide Ltd (SSWL) for the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14. SSWL, now known as Johnson Pharmacare Ltd, is a BSE-listed company and was dealing in commodity futures trading during period of audit assessed by the regulator. In its order, NFRA levied a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the auditor Rakesh Puri, a partner of Y.D. & Company. Besides, Puri has been debarred for a period of five years from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company or body corporate during the ban period. The regulator received information from Sebi pertaining to overstatement in reporting of sales and purchase figures to the tune of Rs 1,417 crore in the financial statements of SSWL for 2012-13 and 2013-14. Accordingly, an ...

Coffee Day audit lapses: NFRA slaps Rs 1.15 cr fine on 2 auditors, 1 firm

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has imposed a ban and penalties totalling Rs 1.15 crore on three entities, including two auditors, for lapses in the auditing of Tanglin Developments Ltd and MACEL. Tanglin Developments Ltd (TDL) and Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estate Ltd (MACEL) are subsidiaries of listed-entity of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL). Late VG Siddhartha and his family members controlled and owned CDEL. The case pertains to the diversion of funds worth Rs 3,535 crore from seven subsidiary companies of CDEL to MACEL. After markets regulator Sebi shared its investigation report in April 2022, NFRA started probing the professional conduct of the statutory auditors of TDL and MACEL. Separately, NFRA has imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on audit firm Sundaresha & Associates, Rs 5 lakh on C Ramesh and further slapped a five-year ban on Ramesh and a two-year ban on Sundaresha & Associates, who were the statutory auditors of TDL during FY 2018-19. In ...

Auditors not expected to look at every single invoice, transaction: ICAI

Amid the auditors' role coming under scrutiny, ICAI's newly elected President Aniket Talati on Thursday said auditors are not expected to look at every single invoice and transaction but are required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statement of a firm is free of material misstatement. The role of the auditors came under scrutiny, especially in the post-IL&FS crisis. "Our auditing standard is today largely in line with international accounting standards. You cannot expect that when a listed company is giving quarterly financial results in 45 days and 60 days for the year-end, it can never be intended that you are going to look at each and every single transaction. It has never been the expectation of an audit," Talati said. According to him, the expectation from a statutory auditor to look at 100 per cent invoices and 100 per cent transactions has never been there and an auditor is expected to exercise the highest level of integrity. The auditing entity needs to ..

Market regulator Sebi penalises former audiitors of CG Power for violations

India's market regulator penalised two former auditors of CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd on Thursday for rule violations, according to an order published on the regulator's website.

NFRA imposes fine, bans auditors for misconduct in audit of DHFL branches

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has imposed a fine and a one-year ban on four auditors for alleged professional misconduct in connection with the audit of branches of Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) in 2017-18. DHFL (now known as Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd) is a listed entity, owned and controlled by Piramal Group. In four separate orders, NFRA levied a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on auditors -- Mathew Samuel, Sam Varghese, Harish Kumar T K and M Baskaran. The auditors are partners of audit firm K Varghese & Co. Besides, all of them were restrained for a period of one year from undertaking any audit in respect of financial statements or internal audit of the functions and activities of any company or body corporate during the ban period, the order said. "The investigation by NFRA revealed prima facie evidence that the branch auditors had violated both the Companies Act, 2013 and the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 by accepting the appointment that ..