Audit watchdog National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) said on Friday that 6,820 companies and over 2,000 auditors come under its regulatory ambit as on 31 March 2021.

The watchdog keeps a database of the entities that come under its purview for regulatory oversight. The latest database shows an improvement over the 6,500 entities that were under its watch as per a 2019 database.

The revised database of regulated entities comprises 5,563 listed companies, 1,156 unlisted companies and 101 insurance and banking companies. The database also lists the 2,079 auditors.

Creation of this data base involves steps like identification and verification of the primary data source and reconciliation of data such as corporate identification number from different sources. The regulator said it is mandated to oversee compliance by ‘public interest entities’ which includes all listed companies and large unlisted entities. The database of entities gives clarity to businesses as well as their auditors of their statutory obligations.

NFRA has in the past taken stringent measures against the statutory auditors of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. entities after the group faced financial collapse leading to the government replacing its board of directors with a state appointed one. Accounting and audit related lapses are viewed seriously by the regulator.