In an odd turn of events, the auditors of the Southern Indian Regional Council (SIRC) of the CA Institute resigned saying the accounts of the body that certifies and regulates auditing appeared dubious. Sundararajan Associates, the statutory auditors of the SIRC and Southern India Chartered Accountants' Students Association (SICASA), have withdrawn from their assignment as auditors and have requested the institute to make necessary alternative arrangements.
The auditors' letter states "we are not in a position to continue the assignment of statutory audit of SIRC and SICASA for 2015-16.......that we have been given three sets of financial statements on various dates with different figures with huge variance for the period 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2015." Sources say the financial statements for 2015-16 revealed a loss of nearly Rs 1 crore, possibly making it the first time the institute would be reporting a loss. "The auditors were handed over multiple sets of accounts which understated the losses and were asked to audit the books that disclosed a lower loss," said a source.
It is also known that the institute spent some Rs 40-50 lakh organising a conference at Mahabalipuram in August 2015. While the institute estimated a footfall of over 3,000 people, the final turnout was around 1,300. On being questioned, the institute is said to have claimed over-estimation as the reason for the excess expenditure.
"Nobody is questioning the difference between the estimated and actual turnout. Question is why weren't there controls put in place to ensure that such gross variance wouldn't occur," said an institute member. On being handed over multiple sets of accounts, the auditors were in a fix as to how to handle the matter and consulted several fellow members before throwing in the towel.
The institute is the national professional accounting body of India. It formulates and issues technical standards to be followed by chartered accountants and others. Non-compliance of these standards by the members leads to disciplinary action against them. Over 2.5 lakh chartered accountants currently fall within the ambit of the institute with over 50,000 from the southern region.
(Source - Times of India)
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