Karnataka Govt. blacklists 60 Chartered Accountants for irregularities

The State Government has blacklisted 60 Chartered Accountants (CAs) who were under scanner for irregularities, Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar said on Tuesday. 

Responding to a question by MLC Bharathi Shetty, the minister said these CAs will not be allowed to practise henceforth. The government is taking the help of private CAs as there are 402 vacancies in various co-operative societies, which have not been filled owing to Covid, the minister said. As many as 1,700 CAs have registered themselves. 

“If there is any complaint in the auditing process, we are conducting re-audits and taking action against the accountants,” he added.  Earlier, each CA could take up hundreds of audits, leading to massive cheating. The government is now thinking of limiting the number of audits per year per CA, the minister said. This will be enforced from April, he added. 

The government will draft regulations to streamline the work of CAs and will stipulate punishment too. All this will be brought before the Legislature for approval during the next session, according to the minister. 

 The MLC alleged that there was widespread corruption in co-operative societies ever since these CAs were roped in for audits.