Mumbai: Every time there is corporate scam, audit firms and auditors are the first ones to be blamed. This time, too, after the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) crisis, the auditors, especially the “big three”—EY, Deloitte and KPMG—are in the dock. Yet, larger questions remain about the changing role of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), besides India’s auditing rules.
As things stand, IL&FS and its vast network of subsidiaries has now become a PR nightmare for the big three.
Last September, IL&FS had defaulted on its debt obligations, triggering a liquidity crisis in the financial services market. IL&FS and its subsidiaries owe ₹99,354 crore.
