SEBI for peer review; ICAI says would take 10-15 days

Chartered accountants apex institute ICAI on Friday said that auditors could take up to 15 days to peer review of the Nifty and Sens*x tracker companies which has been ordered by the market regulator SEBI to avoid a Satyam-like financial fraud. "Peer review can take 10-15 days. It should not take more than that," said Institute of Chartered Accountants of India President (ICAI) Ved Jain. There is no dearth of auditors. There are large number of practicing Chartered Accountants, he said, adding, there are about 75,000 CAs. Earlier in the day, SEBI decided to review the earnings statement of all the companies that figure in the elite stock trackers Nifty-50 and Sens*x-30. "Such a review would be in relation to the last quarterly results and last audited annual financial results," the regulator said in a statement. SEBI will also prepare a panel of auditors to conduct the exercise, which would be taken following the publication of third quarterly results and is likely to be completed by end-February. The review comes on the heels of Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju disclosing a financial fraud amounting to about Rs 7,800 crore in the company over several years. SEBI has already ordered a probe into the share market dealings of Satyam, which has since been removed Nifty as well as BSE Sens*x. The companies that figure in the stock trackers include India's most valued Reliance Industries, Tata group companies, public sector companies like ONGC and IOC. Following the revelations by Raju on Wednesday, the shareholders wealth has eroded by Rs 2,50,000 crore in the day's trading. The decision on review was taken after a meeting of the SEBI's committee on disclosure and accounting standards. – www.economictimes.indiatimes.com