Sebi to empanel auditors to conduct forensic audits of listed firms

Markets regulator Sebi has decided to appoint auditors for conducting forensic audits of financial statements of listed companies to check frauds. The move comes amid Sebi ordering forensic audit of a slew of companies including Fortis Healthcare. Of late, there have been concerns voiced over certain auditors for being negligent while examining books of listed firms with various inconsistencies in financial statements being ignored. Sebi has now invited applications from eligible CA firms "for empanelment to take up assignments relating to forensic audit of financial statements of listed companies". Spelling out the eligibility criteria, Sebi said that the applicant should have minimum 10 years of experience in the field of audit or forensic audit; should have at least 5 partners or directors involved in forensic audit related work, the regulator said in a public notice. "Application shall not be considered where disciplinary action or proceedings have been initiated against the applicant, its partners or directors, by any regulatory body or court of law," Sebi noted. Besides, the applicant should have employed at least 10 persons (full time), having relevant qualification, experience and expertise in the field of forensic audit and should have had experience of forensic audit with any regulatory body, or government agency or public sector enterprise.