ICAI to Strengthen Tirupati Temple’s Donation Accounting System Amid Growing Focus on Temple Finances

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is facilitating the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) improvement of its accounting system for donations received from devotees. The move comes at a time when financial management of religious trusts has come under public attention following allegations of donation theft at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is one of India’s richest religious trusts involved in managing the famous Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple and several other temples in Andhra Pradesh. The trust has approved a budget of Rs 5,456 crore for the current financial year.

On Friday, ICAI President Prasanna Kumar D said that “Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) already has a strong accounting and auditing mechanism. Still, they wanted to improve upon it and take it to the next level, so they sought our help.” Consequently, the temple trust took help from the ICAI in developing a better framework for recording donations and contributions.

The new accounting model is likely to be completed within the next 100 days. Once finalised, TTD will decide when to implement it. Other religious and charitable organisations may also adopt the same framework if they find it useful.

When asked whether ICAI would investigate the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prasanna Kumar D clarified that the institute has no official information about the matter beyond media reports. He said ICAI has no knowledge of the alleged incident.

The ICAI President made these remarks while addressing the AI Innovation Summit in New Delhi. According to reports, eight people have been arrested in connection with the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple.