ICAI Board Rejects Complaint Due to Absence of Authorising Board Resolution

The Board of Discipline of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recently dismissed a complaint against a Chartered Accountant in a case involving his appointment as a statutory auditor.

The respondent was appointed as a statutory auditor of M/s Lo Faro Shop Pvt Ltd (the complainant company) for the FY 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. The complainant claimed that the respondent, CA. Vikash Thakur did not obtain the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the previous auditor, as mandated under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. The complainant also alleged that the respondent had put pressure on the complainant to get the NOC from the previous auditor, threatening to leave the audit work. The respondent was also accused of keeping some of the documents of the complainant and did not formally resign from his position.

The respondent refused these allegations, submitting that the previous auditors did not have any objection to the appointment of the Statutory Auditor. He said that he received a verbal NOC and later obtained a written confirmation, which confirmed that there was no objection to the respondent’s appointment as an auditor. He said that the complaint was made to avoid paying him the pending audit fees.

The board noted that the complainant had not provided a Board Resolution authorising the complainant to initiate the complaint. Due to the absence of this valid authorisation, the Board of Discipline dismissed the complaint without going into the facts of the case and the matter was disclosed.

With this, the Board held that the respondent is ‘Not Guilty’ of any professional misconduct under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.