ICAI wants more teeth to prevent accounting fraud

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India wants more powers to make the accountancy profession more accountable and to avoid Satyam-like scams.

"We need more powers and for that there's a need to make changes in the regulation," Uttam Prakash Agarwal, the new president of ICAI, told reporters. He added that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was open to the idea.

Currently, ICAI cannot take action against any chartered accountant who has indulged in professional misconduct or any other misdeed if he is not a registered member of the institute.

The accounting body is also planning to set up a serious fraud detection cell to assist regulators like the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India to prevent Satyam-like scams.

Meanwhile, ICAI disciplinary committee has granted a 30-day extension to Price Waterhouse, the statuary auditor for the crisis-hit Satyam, to reply to the show-cause notice sent on January 10.