Now, ICAI plans to review accounts of all companies with over Rs 2K cr loans

NEW DELHI: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on Thursday said that it has written to Reserve Bank of India seeking a list of corporate borrowers of public sector banks with over Rs 2,000 crore loan outstanding so that their accounts can be examined by Financial Reporting Review Board for any possible violation of accounting standards as well as auditing.
In a late evening statement, ICAI, which described itself as being proactive, also said that its disciplinary directorate had served show-cause notices on the statutory auditors of Punjab National Bank as well as auditors of Gitanjali Gems, while asking Sebi, CBI and the enforcement directorate to share the findings of the investigations related to the alleged fraud committed by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
In a statement, ICAI said that it had summoned the deputy general manager of PNB to produce a copy of FIR, all documents related to the alleged fraud and share details of the modus operandi. “ICAI has also written to its parent ministry i.e. the ministry of corporate affairs requesting to prevail upon SEBI, CBI, ED and PNB to share their findings with ICAI to enable it to accelerate the action against any Chartered Accountant who have played any role in this fraud,” it said.
The reiteration of some of the move to seek information, taken a week ago, came days after finance minister Arun Jaitley went public with his criticism of auditors in the Rs 11,300 crore PNB fraud. In July, PM Narendra Modi too was critical of the ICAI’s disciplinary record. On its part, ICAI, which regulates the profession, insisted that it had taken the steps suo motu, or on its own.
The institute has also set up a high-powered group to study the systemic issues in case of PNB and suggest remedial steps and improvement in the banking system. The first meeting of the group is scheduled on 23 February 2018.