Significant Achievements
SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS 2024-25
ABOUT FRRB
The Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB) is playing a paramount role in improving the financial reporting practices prevailing in India. It was constituted in July 2002 by the ICAI as a proactive self-regulatory mechanism to improve the financial reporting practices in the Country which helps in promoting investors’ confidence in audited financial statement.
The FRRB reviews the general-purpose financial statements of various enterprises with a view to determine, to the extent possible, compliance with the generally accepted accounting principles in preparation and presentation of financial statements, compliance with the disclosure requirements prescribed by regulatory bodies, statutes/rules and regulations relevant to the enterprise and compliance with the reporting obligations of the enterprise as well as the auditor. The Board comprises the members of the Central Council of the ICAI including Government of India nominee. The Board also had the privilege of the representations from the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG), Central Board of Direct taxes (CBDT), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Niti Aayog. This multi-regulatory representation underscores the Board’s commitment to a holistic approach in strengthening the integrity of financial reporting practices in India.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE YEAR:
Ø PARTNER IN NATION BUILDING- SUPPORTING REGULATORS – REVIEW OF CASES REFERRED BY REGULATORS AND OTHER
STAKEHOLDERS
In its endeavor to support regulators as well as to bring transparency in financial reporting, the FRRB has undertaken, as special cases, review of 7 general purpose financial statement and auditor’s reports thereon of various enterprises as referred by regulators and other stakeholders
Status of review of cases referred by Regulators and Other Stakeholders
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has referred general purpose financial statements of 4 enterprises which are on different stages of review.
- During this period, the Board reviewed the general-purpose financial statements of one enterprise from the list shared by the Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (C&AG) with ICAI, which identified as “Unsatisfactory Performance” in Public Sector Undertakings”.
The list included 42 CA firms, of which 17 CA firms have been issued advisories and 25 have been debarred for a specified period by C&AG. The Board decided to refer the debarred firms to the Director (Discipline) of ICAI for initiating appropriate action
under the Chartered Accountant Act, 1949. With regard to CA firms to whom advisory has been issued by C&AG, the Board had undertaken review of general-purpose Financial Statements ofsix enterprises audited by the sameauditor and considered the review of one enterprise during this period and the remaining five in Council Year 2022-23. The Board decided to issue advisories to the auditors of all these enterprises.
- Based on complain received, the review of general-purpose financial statements of 2 enterprises have been undertaken and considered by Board. Considering the nature of non-compliance observed, the Board decided to issue advisory to the auditor of these enterprises.
| Cases considered and finalised by the Board | Cases referred to Director (Discipline) of ICAI for further action where serious non-compliances observed | Cases referred to Regulators (MCA, SEBI) | Issued advisories to the auditors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | 18(17%) | 16 (15%) | 53 (51%) |
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v UNDERTAKEN REVIEW (Review of Cases Selected on Suo Motto Basis or As Special)
The Board has completed the review of 76 cases selected on suo motto basis (71 cases) or as special cases (5 cases). Out of these 76 cases, 9 cases have been referred to concerned regulators and Director (Discipline) for further action, and in 51 cases, Board decided to issue advisory to the auditor of the enterprise. With this, all the pending cases which were selected for review during the Council Year 2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23, and pertaining to Financial Year 2018-19, 2019-20 & 2020-21 have been considered by the Board.
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DECISION TAKEN BY THE BOARD ON CONSIDERED CASES
v COMPREHENSIVE REPOSITORY OF CASES ON FRRB WEB PORTAL
During the year, a comprehensive repository of 424 cases have been incorporated on FRRB’s web portal which were reviewed by the Board in last 6 Council Years i.e. from 2018-19 to 2023-24 encompassing case specific non-compliances observed by the Technical Reviewers (TR)/ Financial Reporting Review Group (FRRG) and the decisions taken by the Board. Additionally, the portal manages the workflow of 229 active cases which are on different stages of review.
The repository is equipped with an advanced search feature designed to facilitate efficient retrieval of information. The search for data can be made based on a variety of parameters, including the Name of the Enterprise, Category of Company, Ind AS/Non-Ind AS classification, Title of Observation, Type of observation (Rule based or Manual), Meeting Number & Council Year in which the case was considered, Decision of the Board on the case (Referred to Regulators, Advisory to Auditor, Filed) and Document Type (Minutes of case or Report on Non-compliances). Additionally, the portal allows searches by keywords, which enables to locate relevant observation quickly and precisely.
This comprehensive repository not only streamlines operational efficiencies but also provides an accessible reference to historical case data. By serving as a centralized reference, the portal reinforces the FRRB’s commitment to leveraging technology for improved consistency and efficiency in its decision-making processes.
This digital platform signifies a progressive step in the FRRB’s commitment to modernizing operations and enhancing the effectiveness of financial reporting reviews through technological advancements.
v FRRB’s REVIEW COVERING 70% OF MARKET CAPITALISATION
FRRB has undertaken review of companies representing around 70% of market capitalisation, in last 3 years.
v FRRB’S MULTI-FACETED SELECTION PROCESS
ensuring comprehensive assessment of wide range of entities, encompassing:
· Entities referred by regulators: MCA, SEBI, C&AG, ECI
· Suo Moto selection of the companies on the basis of Turnover / Net Worth covering entire gamut of companies spread across all the major sectors of the economy
· Companies for which accounting irregularities are highlighted in media reports
· Nifty 100 and Nifty 500 companies
· Entities in respect of which letter of advisory has been sent by FRRB to auditors, previously
· Complaints received by FRRB, which are within the ambit of its Terms of Reference
v TWITTER HANDLE-FRRB
In order to spread awareness among the members regarding the non-compliances observed by FRRB and to give regular updates on the same, ‘Did you know?’ series is going on at FRRB’s X Account with more than 4,360 followers. Till date, 536 tweets on the errors observed on the compliance related to Accounting Standards (Ind AS and IGAAP) have been posted, out of which 69 tweets have been posted during the current Council Year.
v RELEASE OF PUBLICATION –“Study on Compliances ofFinancial Reporting Requirements (Ind AS Framework) – Volume III
With an objective to educate the preparers of financial statements, auditor and other members about the compliance with various financial reporting requirements, thus paving the way for enhancing the quality of the financial statements as well as quality of services rendered by the members, the Board is bringing out Volume III of its publication Study on Compliances of Financial Reporting Requirements (Ind AS Framework). It contains pertinent observations of the Board in context of Ind AS, Standards on Auditing and applicable Guidance Notes as well as other relevant Laws and Statutes. This publication would provide guidance to the members and other stakeholders, so as to enable them to implement these Standards (Ind AS) in the spirit in which these have been formulated. The publication has been released on Annual Day of ICAI.
v IMPORTANT EVENT
MEMBERS ENRICHMENT – INITIATIVES FOR THE MEMBERS
Ø WEBINAR SERIES ON ‘COMMONLY FOUND NON-COMPLIANCE OF IND AS AND COMPANIES ACT 2013 FOR MEMBERS AT LARGE’
A webinar series on ‘Commonly found Non-Compliances of Ind AS and Companies Act 2013’ was held in April 2024. This series aimed to provide preparers and auditors of financial statements with insights into regulatory compliances and common non-compliances thereby enhancing quality of financial reporting. The webinar series was initiated in the month of April, coinciding with the period when most of the entities finalise the financial statements.
CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, President ICAI, CA. Charanjot Singh Nanda, Vice-President, ICAI, CA. Vishal Doshi, Chairman, FRRB, CA. Dayaniwas Sharma, Vice Chairman, FRRB along with the panelists CA. Himanshu Kishnadwala, CA. Anand Banka and CA. Santosh Maller graced the event. With over 1700 participants, the programme was a resounding success.
Ø AWARENESS PROGRAMME ON ‘COMMONLY FOUND NON-COMPLIANCES OF FINANCIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS’ OBSERVED IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
To spread the awareness amongst the members about the pertinent issues in the areas of reporting as well as to apprise them about the common non-compliances observed by the Board during review of various financial statements “Upskill Knowledge on Financial Reporting Practices” were organised at Bhopal in August 2024 and at Udupi in November 2024. These programmes were well attended by the participants.
Selected photographs
CA. Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, President, ICAI, CA. Charanjot Singh Nanda, Vice-President, ICAI, CA. Vishal Doshi, Chairman, FRRB, CA. Dayaniwas Sharma, Vice-Chairman, FRRB along with the panellists CA. Himanshu Kishnadwala, CA. Anand Banka and CA. Santosh Maller gracing the webinar series on ‘Commonly found Non-Compliance of Ind AS and Companies Act 2013” organized for members at large.
(This photo is attached separately in JPEG format)
CA. Amarjit Chopra, Hon. Past
President, ICAI addressing the participants at Awareness
Programme on Financial
Reporting Practices in Bhopal organized by FRRB and hosted by Bhopal, CIRC of
ICAI in August 2024, well attended by members.
Awareness Programme on Financial Reporting Practices in Udupi organized by FRRB and hosted by Udupi, SIRC of ICAI in November 2024, well attended by members.
A new initiative has been taken to update the members on various non-compliances observed during the review of the Financial Statements. A mass mail is being sent to members from time-to-time basis. Seven mass mails have been sent to members on:
- ‘’Commonly found Non-compliances in Financial Statements of Banks’’ on 15th February 2023, and 11th May 2023,
- “Commonly found Non-compliances in Financial Statements of Companies – Auditor’s Report and CARO, 2016” on 16th June 2023 and 11th August 2023,
- “Commonly found Non-compliances in Financial Statements of Companies – Assets” on 19th September 2023.
- “Commonly found Non-compliances in Financial Statements of Companies – Equity and Liabilities” on 21st November 2023.
- “Commonly found Non-compliances in Financial Statements of Companies – Statement of Profit and Loss” on 09th January 2024.
To spread the awareness amongst the members about the pertinent issues in the areas of reporting as well as to apprise them about the common non-compliances observed by the Board during review of various financial statements “Upskill Knowledge on Financial Reporting Practices” were organised at Goa, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Raipur, Kannur, Bharuch, Ratlam, Jabalpur, Amritsar, Bhilai, Ludhiana, Sonipat and EIRC. These programmes were well attended by the participants.
CA. Hans Raj Chugh, Chairman, FRRB along with Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Chairman, NFRA addressed the event on “The changing dynamics of the Ind AS and Companies Act, 2013” organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi.
‘2 Day Residential Programmes for Reviewers of FRRB’ were organized at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai and at Taj Swarna Hotel, Amritsar.
