Secretarial Audits
Inculcate Business Ethics with expert services for Public Limited Company Compliance
Business served
Customer Ratings
Satisfaction
Business served
Customer Ratings
Satisfaction
Secretarial Audit
Inculcate Business Ethics with expert services for Public Limited Company Compliance
get started!
Business served
Customer Ratings
Satisfaction
What are Secretarial Audits?
Secretarial audit was enacted vide Section 204 of the 2013 Companies Act. And is required to be done by every listed company and A public company with a Paid-up share capital of more than Rs. 50 crore and a turnover of more than Rs. 250 crore. It is a process to check compliances made by the company under Corporate Law and other relevant laws, rules, regulations and procedures etc. In today’s complex business scenario, it is mandatory for every company to comply with hundreds of laws, rules and regulations as the penalty for offences related to non-compliance have become stricter.
Benefits of Secretarial Audits
Documents required for Conducting secretarial audit
Charter Documents
Charter Documents and Statutory Registers
Minutes of Meeting
Board and General Meeting Minutes & Notices
Financial Statements
Audited financial statements and Last year Secretarial Audit Report
ROC filings
If the company is listed, Filings & Intimations with ROC, Stock Exchanges, Newspaper Advertisements
Bonds and Agreements
Employment agreements, Lease Deed, Bonds and returns
RBI Compliance
Filings with RBI (If there is a foreign investment) and other statutory departments,
statutary registers
Registers maintained under Labour Laws
Board Report
Annual Performance Reports, SAST Disclosures, Details of ECB Returns, in case of foreign borrowings in the company
Incorporation document
PAN Card, Certificate of Incorporation and MoA – AoA of Private Company
Audit Report & Board Report
Independent auditor’s report and Board report must be provided
Audited Financial Statements
Financial Statements must be audited by independent auditor
DSC of Director
Valid and active DSC of one of the directors must be provided
How Will We Help?
Frequently Asked Questions
All you need to know before applying for Secretarial Audits:
Only members of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India having COP (Certificate of Practice) can conduct Secretarial Audit and submit the Secretarial Audit Report in Form MR-3.
Mandatory Provision-Secretarial Audit is mandatory for the below-mentioned companies. Also, the companies are required to prepare the Secretarial Audit Report.
- Every Listed Company
- Every public company having a paid-up share capital of 50 crore rupees or more.
- A public company having a turnover of more than Rs. 250 crore or more.
- Every company having a borrowing of 100 crores or more.
Voluntary Provision-Companies which are not covered under section 204 may obtain Secretarial Audit Report voluntarily as it provides an independent undertaking of the compliances in the company.
The Prescient Secretarial Audit continually would help the company in commencing corrective measures and strengthening its compliance mechanism and processes. Consequently, the Secretarial Audit should be carried out-
- Periodically,
- Quarterly,
- Half-year and,
- Annually.
In case of any adverse finding, it is reported on an interim basis to the Board immediately. The Secretarial Audit Report to be annexed with the Board’s report is required to be submitted before the preparation of the Board’s Report.
Secretarial Audit Report is required to be provided in the format lay down in Form MR-3.
Fiscal laws like tax laws and Customs Act, etc needs to be examined while conducting a secretarial audit.
Presently, The authority (ICSI) has not placed any limitation on the number of Secretarial audits that can be conducted by a Practicing Company Secretary in a financial year.
There is no requisite of peer review of Secretarial Auditors.
- The Secretarial Audit Report should be signed by the Secretarial Auditor who has conducted the Secretarial Audit.
- In case if the audit is conducted by the firm of Company Secretaries, then by the partner under whose governance the Audit was conducted.
Also, while signing the Secretarial Audit Report, Company Secretary in Practice should ensure that he holds the valid certificate of practice number.
The Secretarial Auditor is required to be appointed using a resolution passed at a duly convened Board meeting. However,it is recommended for Secretarial Auditor to get the letter of engagement from the company.
- Knowledge
- Team
- Documentation and Backup
- Reliance upon management representation
- Complying to the timelines
- Impartial Behavior
- Maintaining the Audit records
More questions? Seek help of our experts