Audit of the Auditor: Central Vigilance Commission recommends Special CAG Audit of ICAI books

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has recommended that the national auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), conduct’s a special audit of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

It has also requested that the institute’s operations be more open and transparent. This Proposal has come at a time when the ICAI Act, 1949 is being reviewed by the parliamentary standing committee on finance.

These recommendations, if accepted and followed, will go a long way toward bringing much-needed reforms to the ICAI, which is intended to be the watchdog of the audit profession.

The recommendations came after the CVC was asked to look into allegations of alleged financial irregularities at the institute during the terms of former presidents Mr. Prafulla Chhajed and Mr. Atul Gupta in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.

On the subject, the views of the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is the administrative ministry, were also solicited. Despite the fact that the institute is an autonomous body created by an Act of Parliament that is not under the control of the government and thus does not fall under the jurisdiction of the national auditor, the CVC believes that the special audit should be conducted for the relevant years due to the seriousness of the allegations.

Source: Economic Times