SFIO to hire financial experts to analyse corporate announcements

The probe agency is looking to tentatively recruit as many as 24 consultants

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) would hire financial experts to “critically analyse” announcements made by corporate entities, as it looks to curb white-collar misdoing.

The probe agency, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, is looking to tentatively recruit as many as 24 consultants in diverse areas amid acute manpower shortage. Of the total planned, six consultants are in the area of financial analysis and 10 in the field of law.

The agency is looking to recruit as many as six consultants in financial analysis and they would be required to analyse financial statements/data available in the government's MCA 21 portal.

The portal, under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, is the platform for entities registered under the Companies Act to make their statutory filings.

According to SFIO, the experts in financial analysis would have to "critically analyse the corporate announcements made by the corporate entities and prepare research reports".

Among others, they would study financial reports of the companies under probe and make complex financial analysis, assist investigation teams in forensic audit, examination of board minutes, directors reports and other schedules and documents.

These consultants would use "spreadsheet and statistical software packages to analyse financial data and prepare company specific/sector specific reports for use by SFIO".

Apart from law and financial analysis, SFIO is looking to recruit eight consultants in "banking/ law/ tax/ audit & accounts/ capital market/ investigation/ management accounting/ general administration" areas, according to a public notice.

Consultants in law would be required to draft various legal documents, including complaints and petitions.

Besides, they would have to "render all assistance to the officers of SFIO in prosecution matters and also during investigation of the cases" as well as provide legal advice and opinion on points of law in various matters.

The 10 consultants in law would be recruited for the agency's offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.

SFIO, which is facing acute staff crunch, had about 75 vacant positions at different levels as of March 23. There are 130 sanctioned posts at the probe agency but actual strength on that date stood at just 55, as per data compiled by the Ministry.

In 2014-15 fiscal, the Ministry had referred as many as 52 cases for investigation to the agency.

The ministry has been exploring the option of having a scheme for engaging consultants in different fields at the agency as part of efforts to address manpower crunch.