Auditors of 204 listed companies resigned in the period between January 1 and July 17 this year, according to an Indian Express report. This translates to one resignation per day.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has sent queries regarding this after complaints by investors and stakeholders.

“Auditors are increasingly becoming cautious in their association with companies that can result in reputational impact, alongside the possibility of getting banned as in the case of PWC,” a corporate official said.

As per the Registrar of Companies (ROC) records, resignations were majorly from companies registered in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. In fact, three out of every four establishments in these cities saw their auditors quit.

In May, Price Waterhouse resigned as the auditor of Vakrangee citing “absence of adequate and relevant information and explanations.” In a letter to the company’s board, the auditor said it got no reasonable assurance whether the financial statements were free from material misstatements, whether due to “fraud or error.”

The company’s share price has fallen from Rs 455.90 on January 30 to Rs 47.45 on July 23.

Another company which followed the same pattern is Manpasand Beverages whose stock price fell from Rs 344.20 on May 28 to Rs 112.50 on July 23 after Deloitte Haskins & Sells resigned.#casansaar (Source - MoneyControl)