Caught off guard by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and unable to handle the increased workload that has followed, many banks have given chartered accountants added responsibility to flag suspicious activities. The move comes in response to pressure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) new directives, reports The Indian Express.
The move comes as many private sector banks have been left embarrassed after reports emerged of them being home to hundreds of fake accounts that were used to exchange phased-out high value notes.
These chartered accountants, already engaged in the concurrent audits of the bank branches, have been asked to carry out additional checks, such as monitoring CCTV footage and reporting any irregularities to help the banks weed out employees indulging in corrupt practices.
The DFS and the RBI have also sent out directives in this regard and asked these audit firms to carry out broader scrutiny of the bank branches.
The List of New Checks
Difficult to Meet Given Deadlines: Audit Firms
Faced with additional responsibilities along with extra pressure because of increased banking activities, many audit firms have added to the problems of the banks by missing their deadlines for submitting monthly reports.
We usually visit a branch thrice every week for the concurrent audit with help from bank staff. Facing cash shortage, queues, and chaos, bank staff don’t have time for us now. At times, it is impossible to even enter a branch. With so many parameters under these circumstances, it will be difficult to do a thorough job and submit the December report by 7 January. But we will try our best.A Partner in a Chandigarh-based CA firm to The Indian Express
However, banks for now have ignored such suggestions.
The so-called additional points [checks] are very much within the ambit of their concurrent audit assignment. Anyway, most auditors will check all these only at a sampling level. But any number of tickets raised will help the system.Deputy General Manager of a Nationalised Bank to The Indian Express
(Source: The Indian Express)
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