Stricter reporting regime coming soon for auditors

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is expected to take a major step to revamp the auditor’s report that accompanies company balance-sheets, placing more onus on statutory auditors to fulfill their professional responsibilities. The move is expected in February.

Jan 28, 2020 

Besides overhauling the Companies Auditors Report Order (CARO), the government is also likely to make changes to the secretarial audit reporting that is mandated under the company law, sources said.

The entire effort will be to provide early-warning signals to policy-makers and regulators of impending disasters in corporates, they said.

Indications are that the MCA may even ask statutory auditors to digitally file the new CARO instead of waiting for the auditor report to form part of the annual report.

The aim is to tighten the working of auditors and also push managements to conform to more elaborate disclosures on their state of affairs.

Audits

Auditors get 90 days to file NFRA-2 form

 Dec 13, 2019 

The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has given a breather for statutory auditors who were earlier required to file the NFRA-2 form with the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) by November 30. It has now allowed the form — which specified the format of the Annual return — to be filed with the new independent audit regulator NFRA within 90 days from the day on which it was published on the website of the Authority. With December 9 as the date on which form NFRA-2 was published on the Web site, auditors will have time till March 9 to file the form, said experts in the audit fraternity.

Audits

Sebi lays down stricter norms for statutory auditors

·         Oct 19, 2019 

Regulator Sebi on Friday put in place stricter norms for auditors, including prompt disclosures about reasons for their resignation and requirement to approach chairman of audit committee directly in case of any concerns with management of the firm concerned

Audits

Feb 11, 2023 

The Reserve Bank on Friday updated its ‘Alert List’ for the public on unauthorised forex trading platforms to include names of entities/platforms/ websites which appear to be promoting such entities.

In September last year, the central bank came out with an ‘Alert List’ containing the names of 34 entities. The list now has 48 entries.”The Alert List has been updated and includes names of entities/platforms/ websites which appear to be promoting unauthorised entities/ETPs, including through advertisements of such unauthorised entities or claiming to be providing training/advisory services,” the RBI said, and added the Alert List is not exhaustive.

Corporate Laws

No more penal interest: How RBI decision will help home, personal, car and other loan borrowers

Feb 09, 2023 

In a move that will help customers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to do away with the levy of “penal interest” on loan defaults by regulated entities and replace it with “penal charges”. The central bank will issue draft guidelines on the issue for comments from stakeholders soon.

In the bi-monthly ’Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies’ released today (February 8), the RBI said that “divergent practices” by regulated entities with regard to the levy of penal interest have led to customer grievances and disputes have been seen.

Corporate Laws

Sebi allows all RBI-authorised payment systems for RFQ settlement

Jan 10, 2023 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in a circular issued on Monday, clarified that all payment mechanisms provided by banks and payment aggregators authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be used for settlement of trades executed on the Request for Quote or RFQ platform.
This was in response to a clarification sought by stock exchanges and market participants as to whether payment mechanisms other than ‘Real-Time Gross Settlement’ or RTGS could be used for settlement.

Corporate Laws

RBI to launch retail e? pilot on Dec 1

Dec 05, 2022 

The Reserve Bank of India has announced the launch of the pilot project for retail digital rupee on December 1, 2022, informed RBI in an official press release.

According to the release, users will be able to transact with e?-R through a digital wallet offered by the participating banks and stored on mobile phones and devices. The pilot would cover select locations in closed user groups (CUG) comprising participating customers and merchants. “The e?-R would be in the form of a digital token that represents legal tender. It would be issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued. It would be distributed through intermediaries, i.e., banks,” RBI noted.

Corporate Laws

Despite imminent slowdown, rate hikes to continue

Dec 06, 2022 

While the fiscal second quarter growth may be just half of what it was in the first quarter, the central bank may not still put a brake on raising interest rates as price pressures continue.

Economists have factored a lower growth for the September quarter at 6.5 percent compared to 13.5 percent in the June quarter. Despite risks of a further slowdown, the Reserve Bank is still expected to deliver a 35 to 50 basis points ( one bps is 0.01 percent) rate hike to manage inflation within the mandated band of 2-6 percent.

Corporate Laws