The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has extended the deadline till February 24 for submitting comments on its proposed annual transparency reports. The earlier deadline for submission of public comments was February 16, according to a notice issued on Wednesday.
Last month, NFRA came out with draft requirements to be followed by auditors and audit firms for preparing Annual Transparency Reports (ATRs). The effort was aimed at enhancing the transparency about management and governance of audit firms and their internal policy framework to ensure high-quality audits and prevent conflict of interest by maintaining independence.
An audit firm will have to publish the ATR within three months from the end of each financial year. "Transparency report containing certain critical information about the auditor's operational activities, management, governance and ownership structures, and policies and procedures necessary to deliver high-quality audits etc.
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The information contained in the ATR will be useful to the investors, audit committees, independent directors and public at large," the notice said. NFRA noted that the proposed ATR requirements are on the lines of the contemporary international best practices implemented by certain prominent independent audit regulators in other jurisdictions. NFRA is an independent regulator for the auditing profession under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
