60 CAs Blacklisted by Karnataka Govt. for Irregularities

Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar announced on Tuesday that the state government has blacklisted 60 Chartered Accountants (CAs) who were under investigation for irregularities.

In response to a question from MLC Bharathi Shetty, the minister stated that these CAs will no longer be permitted to practice. According to the minister, the government is enlisting the services of private CAs because there are 402 vacancies in various co-operative societies that have not been filled as a result of Covid. There are now 1,700 CAs registered.

“We perform re-audits and take action against the accountants if there is any complaint in the auditing process,” he continued. Previously, one CA could take on hundreds of audits, resulting in widespread fraud. According to the minister, the government is now considering limiting the number of audits per CA every year. He said that this will be implemented starting in April.

The government will establish regulations to help CAs do their jobs more efficiently, as well as impose penalties. According to the minister, all of this will be presented to the Legislature for approval at the next session.

Since these CAs were brought in for audits, the MLC claims, there has been widespread corruption in co-operative societies.

Source: Deccan Herald