NEW DELHI: Apex chartered accountants institute ICAI has so far barred CAs from practising for a maximum of five years in 41 cases, but may ban those involved in auditing Satyam books for life, if found guilty.
“We have written to the disciplinary committee of ICAI. If found guilty, CAs involved in Satyam Computer's auditing could be banned for lifetime,” Institute's President, Mr Ved Jain said here.
Mr Jain said before the body takes any action against the members involved in the “fraud”, it needs to collect all facts and information… “so we are looking into that and we will start our proceedings,” he added.
So far ICAI has taken action against 122 CAs in various auditing irregularities, he said. As many as 41 cases were big, where CAs were debarred from practising for five years, Mr Jain said.
He said the institute cannot take action against PriceWaterHouseCoopers, auditors of Satyam Computer, but only against individual CAs.
“We will ensure that to any person who has not worked according to our standards and our expectations, severe punishment be given,” he said.
In fact, the ministry of corporate affairs announced that role of directors and auditors at Satyam will be scanned by ICAI and the apex body of Company Secretaries - ICSI.
Following a letter from Satyam Chairman Mr Ramalinga Raju, who accepted that he had misrepresented facts in the company's balance sheet, the role of auditors and accountants for the company has also come under scanner. - PTI
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