What role would ICAI play in realising the government’s ambition of creating an Indian MDP firm that can compete with the Big Four?
We have held various meetings and given our inputs to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The government is speaking to advocates as well. We are seeing what changes need to be made in the regulations. There has to be availability of funds, technology and training initiatives. We are bringing out the networking guidelines soon on which we have received 850 comments. There is a need for cultural change. We are always there to assist the government. All institutions will have to align their vision with the government.
Just like professions, do you think all institutes also need to come under one umbrella for an MDP firm?
There could be a separate regulator for this. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. MCA is the governing ministry for this. I am keen to see ICAI do it but the government has to take that call. We are fully empowered to lead this initiative once it is assigned to us.
Are you also developing a curriculum to train young professionals for the needs of an MDP?
It is an ever evolving process. We keep on updating it. That is our job.
The overseas networking guidelines which you spoke about earlier have drawn criticism from industry over compliance and concerns on sweeping disclosure norms. What do you think?
When we frame these guidelines, they have to be foolproof. They cannot manage the fancy of various people. We will have to see that it stands the tests of contemporary needs of the society and the profession. We will do deliberations on this and take it to the council. We are keen to get it done in this financial year.
The government has been stressing on deregulation. How do you balance that, ensuring checks and balances are in place?
Public expectation is always there to deregulate and decriminalise. We have to do it but it cannot send people scot free to do whatever they want. We take a call on a case-to-case basis. We are a resilient institute and we take our decisions. If something is expected of us, we will take it forward.
The government is planning to bring the Companies Amendment Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Would you be sharing any inputs?
We are working on the suggestions and making a white paper that we will share with the government. Our focus is audit quality enhancement. At any level, audit quality should not take a backseat. Ultimately, the entire healthy environment of the economy is dependent on how audits are done. We are looking at what needs to be done in the Act in terms of audit, non-audit so there is no conflict of interest.
What is the status of your investigation in the matters of IndusInd Bank and Gensol Engineering?
The work is on. The Financial Reporting Review Board is looking into these matters to determine the root cause of the fraud, whether there is any misinformation and who are the people responsible. We will ask the company for information, if needed. It will be an exhaustive report and then we will take a call on what has to be done.
Third version (V3) of the MCA portal has been facing some issues. How is the institute tackling the situation?
All the three institutes met last week to look at the gaps. MCA has extended the filing deadline till December 31. Fixing (the portal) is easier said than done.
Why were these issues not flagged in the user acceptance test of which ICAI was a part?
Testing issues and actual implementation can have some differences. By and large, it was working during testing.
ICAI is proposing mandatory internal audits for companies. Do you think for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) these norms should be relaxed?
We will see what information is needed from what companies and then do a benchmarking. Internal audit is a management function. It is for value addition and highlighting shortcomings. We don’t want to undermine that.
How are the professionals preparing for artificial intelligence (AI) use in their field?
Close to 30,000 Chartered Accountants, who are members of ICAI, are now AI trained. Now, we have come with the second level course as well.
 "ICAI President Charanjot Singh Nanda")