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The CA Institute on Friday sought to remind the nation that it has no powers yet to take disciplinary action against CA firms and that it could do so only against its erring members who are either partners of an audit firm or in service.
This comes on the heels of SEBI's order banning all the audit firms in the Price Waterhouse network from listed space for two years after finding it guilty in the Satyam scam case.
While SEBI's action has been against the Pricewaterhouse Network firms in India, the CA Institute had till date been able to take disciplinary action only against its members involved in the Satyam scam.
No action was possible against the concerned audit firms ( Pricewaterhouse network) as the CA Institute has no explicit power to proceed against the firms under the extant CA Act and Rules, according to a statement issued by the CA Institute here.
Asserting that it had done its maximum bit under the CA Act and rules in taking action against errant members in Satyam matter, the CA Institute statement said that "no powers are presently vested with ICAI for taking action against firms".
"The ICAI has already sent its recommendations in the year 2010 to the Corporate Affairs Ministry for making amendments in the Chartered Accountants Act 1949 to enable taking disciplinary action against CA firms", the statement added.
FIRST OFF THE BLOCKS
Without making specific comment on the SEBI order, the CA Institute said that the present punishment awarded by SEBI is only a reiteration of the verdict passed by the Disciplinary Committee of ICAI. "...except that while the ICAI had punished the concerned member, however the SEBI has imposed this punishment on the audit firm concerned".
The CA Institute was the first to be off the blocks when the Satyam matter broke out in January 2009, the statement added.
The ICAI had awarded the maximum penalty of removal from membership permanently and imposition of monetary penalty on members of ICAI involved in the matter, it added.
Srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in
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