ICSI plans framework for companies' compliance with Sebi norms

Company secretaries' apex body ICSI plans to put in place a framework to ensure listed- companies carry out proper due diligence to comply with Sebi regulations.
Companies secretaries have a prominent role in ensuring good corporate governance practices and have increased responsibilities under the Companies Act.
Against this backdrop, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has recently constituted a task force on "Audit/ Due Diligence/ Compliance of Sebi laws".
In recent times, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has been coming out with stricter requirements for listed entities as part of larger efforts to improve corporate governance practices and protect the interest of investors.

The ICSI task force would study in detail "proposition of an exhaustive compliance audit/ due diligence mechanism on Sebi laws applicable to listed entities and work out the modalities for such audit/ diligence and lay down a reporting format," a communication issued by the ICSI last week said.
Chaired by former executive director at Sebi J N Gupta, the eight-member task force includes officials from leading stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE.
Company secretaries have been authorised by the government as well as by Sebi, the RBI and other regulators to issue various certifications, among other activities.
According to the communication, there is a need to ensure that compliance with Sebi norms are "independently checked and verified, in detail, periodically with observations on compliance level with reasons for lapses, if any and action plan to prevent recurrence of lapses".