Dear Safeer,
AS per Section 224 (1) of the Companies Act, 1956 every company whether it is public or private limited shall have an auditor to audit its accounts. The Auditors appointed at the Annual General Meeting hold the office from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting at which he is appointed until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
Thus, the Act seeks to ensure that the appointment of auditors is not in the hands of the directors and is vested in the general body of shareholders.
Who should audit the accounts ? A person, who is Chartered Accountant within the meaning of Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and holds a certificate of practice, or a partnership firm where of all the partners are Chartered Accountants holding certificates of practice, may be appointed as auditor of a company. However, in the latter case, the appointment as an auditor may be made in the firm name and any of its partners may act in the name of the firm.The following persons cannot be appointed as auditor of a Company:
1. An officer or employee of the company;
2. A person who is partner with an employee of the company or employee of an employee of the company;
3. Any person who is indebted to a company for a sum exceeding Rs. 1,000/- or who have guaranteed to the company on behalf of another person for a sum exceeding Rs. 1,000/-.
4. A person who is holding any security of that company, after a period of one year from the date of commencement of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000.If an auditor, after his appointment, becomes subject to any disqualification mentioned above, he shall be deemed to have vacated as such.
Regards,
Veeral Gandhi