Kolkata: The new Companies Bill has proposed that corporate entities will have to include a secretarial audit report certifying that company law compliance has been met in financial statements to ensure greater accountability and transparency.
According to clause 204 of the Companies Bill 2011, prescribed class of companies would need to attach a Secretarial Audit Report given by a company secretary in practice with the board's report.
The report will be on the lines of a statutory audit report, ICSI Chairman (East India) Ranjeet Kumar Kanodia said here today.
"It will definitely bring in more transparency and will also help companies to understand where or whether at all they have failed to comply with any of the provisions of the Companies Act," Kanodia said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which scrutinised the new Companies Bill, suggested that a company secretary should report on cases of failure to deposit undisputed statutory dues like PF and ESI to the authorities administering such funds.
"Such reporting would facilitate the statutory authorities administering such funds/duties/taxes to take the immediate corrective action," the Committee has said in its report.
The Companies Bill, which was introduced following the Rs 14,000-crore Satyam fraud, seeks to keep pace with the changing modern industrial climate by proposing to enhance the accountability of companies, seeking greater disclosure and protection of investors and minority shareholders.
The Bill is expected to be taken up for consideration and passage in the ongoing session of Parliament.
PTI
