The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a directive to the country’s banks warning them that audit firm partners currently facing disciplinary proceedings cannot sign off balance sheets or take part in any audit process.
Economic Times reports that accountancy firms not banned from audit may also be required to remove some of their senior partners from any bank’s audit process.
The Indian affiliates of Deloitte and KPMG are fighting the threat of a five-year ban each from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs over the audit of IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN).
Economic Times notes that this latest directive follows others over the last year that have significantly increased the burden of responsibility on statutory auditors of commercial banks.
