http://www.pdicai.orgThe latest news and journals from all over the world.Copyright 2005 - 2006 Feedpedia.com. All rights reserved.Corporate frauds, accounting scandals and business failures continue to unravel across the globe, leaving investors not only bitter but also losing confidence in financial reporting. Regulators now want to significantly enhance corporate governance practices.One such measure involves fostering a constructive dialogue between auditors and the audit committee on the accounting and auditing aspects of companies. While some of this communication may already be ongoing due to existing requirements in India, or from adoption of international practices, it would be useful to reiterate some of these.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/taxation-and-accounts/audit-committee-should-be-talking-to-the-auditor/article4614418.ece15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMTThe rural development ministry has moved a step closer to real-time evaluation of its Rs 76,000-crore development budget by working out the details of a mechanism that will audit welfare programmes as they are implemented. An official close to the development said the mechanism, called the Concurrent Evaluation Office, will become functional latest by March end. It will be established through an executive order and report to the rural development minister. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh had proposed the mechanism to make welfare schemes more effective. The Cabinet had cleared the proposal in November. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/welfare-schemes-auditing-may-start-from-march-end/articleshow/17961571.cms10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTWith an eye on strengthening the Competition Commission of India (CCI), corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot on Monday introduced a Bill to amend the Competition Act, 2002. This Bill aims at extending CCI?s jurisdiction to cover all M&a deals without the exception of any sector. However, all forced mergers involving, for example, ailing banks and insurance companies would come under the ambit of the RBI and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. Once passed, the time period for the CCI to decide on the combinations would come down to 180 days from 210 days. The amended Act would grant powers to the CCI chief to allow the DG, its investigating arm, to carry out search and seizure activities. At present, CCI?s director general, upon authorisation by Delhi?s chief metropolitan magistrate, can carry out search and seizure in any investigation.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bill-aimed-at-giving-cci-more-teeth-tabled/1043320/11 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMTListed companies now have to restate books of account on the directions of SEBI or other statutory authority. This has significant implications for regulators, investors and auditors too. When filing annual reports with stock exchanges for the period ending on or after December 31, 2012, listed companies now need to file Form A or Form B, depending on the type of audit observation/ qualification in the audit report. This is a seemingly minor change, but has multiple repercussions for various stakeholders. It should be noted that the listed company, on account of the equity listing agreement with stock exchanges, now also agrees to restate its books of account on the directions of SEBI or any other statutory authority, under the extant regulatory framework.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/taxation-and-accounts/close-watch-on-audit-qualifications/article4105841.ece19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMT The government will now handle the selection of auditors for state-run banks, a finance ministry official said, signalling growing concern over laxity in the audit followed by lenders and possible overstatement of profits. The finance ministry is expected to issue a directive on the issue soon. "We are in consultation with key players. We expect to issue the directives in the next few days," the official said. The issue of public sector banks selecting auditors on their own had earlier been flagged by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which said the appointments should be done by an independent regulator, such as the Reserve Bank of IndiaBSE 3.82 %. The ICAI regulates the profession of accountants in India. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/government-to-handle-selection-of-auditors-for-public-sector-banks/articleshow/16483850.cms21 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT India will enforce an adapted version of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from financial year 2013-14, making the financial statements of companies in the country comparable with those in more than 100 other countries, corporate affairs minister M Veerappa Moily said on Wednesday. IFRS followed in many advanced economies including Europe, relies on a fair value based accounting system to capture a more realistic picture of a company's financial health than the conservative Indian accounting standards that follow a historical cost approach (the cost of acquiring an asset).http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ifrs-will-be-effective-from-next-year-moily/1001845/13 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMTTax authorities have blamed the opaque practices in the real estate sector, all-cash deals by small scale producers, capital market regulator Sebi?s lack of reach on the ultimate beneficiaries of offshore instruments and informal stock trading outside the exchanges for the generation of black money. In a report presented to the finance ministry last week, a panel led by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman has emphasised that the way business is done in these areas have dealt a serious blow to the economy not only by tax evasion but also by way of huge unproductive and speculative investment into gold and real estate, that are considered safe against inflation.http://www.financialexpress.com/news/realty-sector-sees-most-accounting-variations-cbdt/991234/22 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMTWorld Bank?s audit arm, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), is reviewing a $450-million funding for Tata Power?s project in Mundra, Gujarat, to assess compliance to various environmental and social norms regarding this investment. The investment in this 4,000-megawatt (Mw) ultra-mega power project (UMPP) has been made by World Bank?s private sector lending arm IFC (International Finance Corp). The CAO, an independent arm of the World Bank group, is also looking into ?whether IFC gave adequate consideration to the cumulative impacts of Adani Power and the construction of the Mundra West Port in its Environment & Social review? while investing in this UMPP.http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/cao-auditing-ifcs-funding-in-tata-project/483150/13 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMTIndia will implement internationally accepted reporting rules, IFRS, from April 1 next year, Minister for Corporate Affairs and Power Veerappa Moily has said. This will be done even if the proposed new direct taxes code is not ushered in by that date, he said at an Assocham event here. The Minister also indicated that his Ministry would soon form a committee that would, among other things, suggest ways for IFRS implementation. The CA institute is yet to take a call on contentious issues like adoption of ?fair value? concept. Moily?s remarks about his Ministry?s resolve to implement IFRS clears doubts over India?s commitment to implement such rules. A roadmap suggested by the Ministry some years ago had proposed IFRS implementation from April 1, 2011, for certain companies with turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore. But implementation was put off in the wake of tax-related issues.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3742008.ece09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMTProxy advisory firms, which provide investors with independent opinion on corporate governance issues, have warned shareholders against companies that have not changed their auditors since many years. They want shareholders to vote against resolutions seeking re-appointment of auditors if the same entity has been associated with the company for more than 3-4 years. According to Institutional Investor Advisory Services India (IIAS), the coming week would see big listed entities like Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Emami, Adani Enterprises and Cadila Healthcare seeking shareholders approval for re-appointment of auditors that have already spent many years with the company. In the case of Tata Motors, Deloitte Haskins & Sells have been the company?s statutory auditors since the last seven years and the same audit partner has been signing the accounts for the last three years, according to IIAS, which feels that to maintain independence, auditors must be rotated after six years, and the signing partner must be changed every three years.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/proxy-advisory-firms-raise-red-flag-over-auditor-appointments/982973/03 Aug 2012 00:00:00 GMT India Inc may not get accounting relief on forex losses, despite the significant downslide of the rupee. Corporate India has been pitching for accounting rule relaxation on losses arising on short-term foreign currency loans similar to what is available for long-term foreign currency debt. But the country?s top accounting standards body ? the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards (NACAS) ? has decided against any relaxation to the accounting rule that requires companies to adjust their loan exposure to the rates prevailing at the end of every quarter. India Inc claims that if an accounting relief were to be given, a less distorted picture of the balance-sheet would be available for investors. In the absence of any relief, forex losses from short-term loans would have to be taken to the profit and loss account. The accounting rule relaxation that was allowed for long-term foreign currency debt in December last year was dubbed as a New-Year gift to India Inc. The Corporate Affairs Ministry had then issued two notifications to provide relief for corporates that had sizeable long-term foreign currency loan exposure in their balance-sheets.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3662761.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home21 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMTA repeat feature of the recent wrong-doing in JP Morgan and futures brokerages Peregrine Finance Group and MF Global is that those responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders and maintaining market probity were bystanders at best. As regulators come under fire again, it is striking that there is little scrutiny of causality stemming from shortcomings in accounting. This article argues that flawed or fudged accounting practices and particularly hedge accounting are at the heart of blunders or worse, with profoundly serious financial and economic consequences.http://business-standard.com/india/news/bjaimini-bhagwatib-how-to-reform-hedge-accounting/480900/20 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMTI heard Rajat Gupta speak as a keynote at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in March 2010. HBS had invited a clutch of Indian entrepreneurs to discuss entrepreneurship in India. And so, why was Rajat Gupta there? Well, he was the most illustrious Indian in the United States! If you were present at the event, correct me if I am wrong, but I heard Rajat Gupta with a cracked voice. I heard more philosophy than gyaan. I heard the voice of regret ring out loud. On that particular day, I just assumed that he must've had a bad day. But today I am much wiser. These are the five bitter lessons I have learnt from the punishing saga of Rajat Gupta, ending in his indictment for insider trading in the courts of New York. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/5-bitter-business-lessons-rajat-gupta-taught-me/articleshow/14382451.cms25 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMTThe revised Schedule VI of Companies Act, 1956, requires companies to report their financials for the year ended March 31, 2012 and beyond in the new-format balance sheet. A main reason for the revision was to see that financial statements provide more relevant information to users and are better aligned to international reporting formats. One of the fundamental changes is the classification of liabilities between the current and non-current component. All liabilities due for repayment within 12 months from the balance sheet date are generally classified as current liabilities.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/taxation-and-accounts/article3539849.ece18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMTInternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), sought to bring in uniformity in financial reporting globally.This would facilitate the global investors to understand statements in a better manner. Compliance with IFRS by the Indian Industry has been in the air for quite a few years.IFRS COMPLIANCEAll of Europe has already gone in for mandatory compliance of IFRS, and the US is on the way. India Inc was to do it in three phases. All the NIFTY Companies, SENSEX Companies and those with a turnover of more than Rs 1000 crore were to conform to IFRS with effect from the financial year commencing from April 1, 2011. Much hype was created regarding this by the professional bodies, training institutes, and academic institutions.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/mentor/article3009534.ece?ref=wl_features19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMTIn a new twist in the tussle between Lilliput Kidswear promoter Sanjeev Narula and investors Bain Capital and TPG, the Delhi High Court-appointed auditor, SS Kothari Mehta & Co, has expressed inability to complete the court-directed audit. The auditor's withdrawal could have a significant bearing on the sale of the business initiated by all shareholders. The auditor has cited the company?s non-cooperation in the audit as the reason. The auditor's report had been allowed to be inspected by the investors, promoter and the company. Narula declined to comment on the issue. The spokesperson of Bain Capital also declined to comment.http://business-standard.com/india/news/auditor-finds-lilliput-review-no-childs-play/465569/23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMTThe Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the commodity futures market regulator, is firming up initiatives to bring more transparency to the functioning of commodity exchanges and help ensuring a greater degree of compliance. Against an unwritten rule earlier, the regulator will now put in place a written guideline, making audits of each of the 2,500 active brokers once every three years a mandatory affair. The regulator and exchanges will audit around 800-900 members each year of five national commodity exchanges - MCX, NCDEX, National Multi Commodity Exchange, Kotak-promoted Ace Exchange and Reliance ADA-anchored Indian Commodity Exchange. In total, there are nearly 5,100 members who trade in 66 commodities. Audits are an important process as they ensure brokers comply with exchange rules and markets are run efficiently. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/regulation/broker-audits-set-to-be-made-mandatory-soon-to-bring-more-tranparency-in-commodity-exchanges/articleshow/11785220.cms07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMTThe government may ask companies issuing foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) to set aside funds to redeem the borrowings. The proposal was discussed at a recent meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) - a forum set up to ensure co-ordination of policies between regulators such as the RBI, Sebi and the finance ministry. A final decision is yet to be taken, but the intent is to avoid defaults by Indian companies, an official with knowledge of the matter said. Rules governing FCCBs will have to be amended to impose such an obligation on companies, the official said, adding that any change in rules will be with prospective effect. The model the regulators are considering is the debenture redemption reserve - funds that companies have to set aside out of their profits to redeem debentures.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/bonds/companies-may-have-to-make-provision-for-fccb-payouts/articleshow/11518255.cms17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMTOne of the important rights that shareholders enjoy is the right to receive financial information periodically. It is widely perceived that managers have a temptation to ?cook? account books and provide favourable financial information to the investing public. Therefore, there is a need to have an independent third party, with adequate competency, to review those financial statements to assess whether they provide a ?true and fair view?. The statutory auditor plays that important role. The auditor provides a reasonable assurance that the financial disclosures are fair and complete, and thus, enhances the investors? confidence, which is essential to the promote liquidity and efficiency of the capital market. A developed capital market ensures flow of capital to the corporate sector and efficient allocation of capital. Thus, the auditing profession plays a critical role in the economic development of a country. It is a well-established view that the statutory auditor is the watchdog of the public interest. Yet, the auditee (the company) pays the fees. Neither the government nor the public pays the audit fees. Although shareholders enjoy the right to appoint the auditor, in practice, the management appoints the auditor. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/audit-oversight-key-to-audit-independence/458210/12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMTIn a move that will depress the top line of several leading real estate companies, an upcoming accounting change aims to reduce the discretion available to them on how to compute revenues. The accounting regulator is working on a 'guidance note' that will, for the first time, define when and how developers should recognise revenues from a project, say two senior officials of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) working on the note, on the condition of anonymity. The new rules will be a blow to companies that adopt an aggressive tack in recognising revenues, including frontline ones like DLF and Parsvnath Developers. In the case of DLF, for example, the proposed change would have placed in question 75% of the revenues declared by India's largest developer in 2010-11. For Parsvnath, that figure would be 79%. In India, real estate firms mostly follow the 'percentage completion' method to recognise revenues. Under this, a developer recognises revenues from a project not when it is finished, but continuously, in proportion to the spending on it. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news-/new-accounting-rules-to-hit-realty-cos-top-lines-aims-to-reduce-the-discretion/articleshow/10684927.cms10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT