Missing Men of Honor

The Story of Disgrace

A wave of shame and disgrace washed over Indian Premier League’s (IPL) Rajasthan Royals team. Three players of the team – S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – were identified as part of the spot fixing racket. Eleven bookies were involved. Investigators have found some evidence connecting it to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

As per police disclosure Chavan was paid Rs.60 lakhs by the bookies, Sreesanth and Chandila got Rs.40 lakhs each. By the number of matches they have played they would have earned a few crores each. The bookies lured the players by throwing parties and providing female escorts.

It is shocking that players with such international repute and excellent career opportunities would take a criminal route to earn money. One wonders what they were thinking. Were they joyously throwing up their hands in the air and dancing with happiness. Did they think that for a few millions they would be breaking the hearts, trust and expectations of billions of people, starting with their family?

It is reported that Rahul Dravid, the captain of the team suspected something. He made Sreesanth sit a couple of matches and the team managers asked him to leave the team. How painful it must have been for Dravid, a man reputed for gentlemanly conduct.

This isn’t the first time followers hearts have been broken by their idols. It started with the political leaders. Now the cancer has spread through all facets of life. Indian politicians – Gandhi, Nehru, and Azad – were known for their impeccable behavior  Congress leaders fought for Indian independence. They spent years behind bars to fight for a cause. Now Indian politicians spend time behind bars for corruption and fraud. Instead of feeling shame or humiliation, they get back into public life with renewed vigor to mislead people and make money.  Over 30% of Indian politicians have a criminal track record.

The new breed, who have joined the infamous bandwagon are senior managers of Indian corporates. After Satyam and 2G telecom scam, their names appear frequently for being interrogated by CBI and spending time in jails.

Valuing Honor in Our Lives

So where has honor disappeared? Previously, the mark of distinction for a man was when people referred to him as – “he is an honorable man”.  Having a dishonorable reputation was disastrous socially and professionally. Now, honorable men among leaders can be counted on figure tips.

As a world civilization, we need honor back in our bloodstream. Without it, humanity will reach new levels of depravity. We require men and women to work dedicatedly to get it back for the sake of next generation, though it is a challenging task.

The cynics will say it is a pipe dream and point out various flaws. The idealists look at the times gone by and wish the same could somehow come back. The practical breed has learnt to work like an automaton to earn a living and look at nothing else.

So where do we get our heroes who will change the world for us?  The heroes have to pay a price. Lincoln, Gandhi and King – were all assassinated because they dared to bring about change. From the first step to the end of their journey they made personal sacrifices. They repeatedly saw failures, their hearts sank with despair and somehow they gathered their strength to walk on thorns again.

In the present world, who would wish to trade the high life, luxuries and comforts for a life full of dynamite?

But unless we do so, we are bestowing the next generation a dangerous life.

So our choice is between our generation and the next. Do we want to look that far ahead?

Closing Thoughts  

When we talk about change, our hackles rise. Even when it is obvious that we should change, we don’t want to. That is a human failing which 100% of us have. Our best excuse is that we can’t change the world, who would listen to us, how can all the people change? But if we study change, we just need 10% of the people to believe in our cause. That is, we need to influence just 1 in 10 people in our life. That doesn’t sound very difficult; all of us are capable of doing it. So why not give it a shot, and bring honor back in our lives. I leave you with words of Dorothy L. Sayers from Gaudy Night:

“If it ever occurs to people to value the honor of the mind equally with the honor of the body, we shall get a social revolution of a quite unparalleled sort.”

References:

IPL match fixing 

Indian Banks Give Customer Service for Money Laundering

Recently a string operation exposed money laundering services provided by some Indian private banks. The employees and bank managers were caught on camera advising the disguised reporter on ways and means he can convert his illicit money into legal money.

1. Caught in the act

Some of the helpful advice given by bankers included:

1. Open multiple accounts so that the amount remains below the reporting limits. Do not deposit over Rs 10 lakhs (Rs 1 million) in a single instance.
2. Obtain a demand draft from a Cooperative Bank and deposit the draft with us. Cooperative Banks do not require an account hence it will be easy to obtain a draft. Since cash would not be directly deposited and private banks do not have to check the source of funds, the deposit will not raise any alerts.
3. Route the cash money through another bank to avoid detection.
4. The Income Tax act prohibits keeping cash in bank lockers. However, if you do not inform the bank staff, they can look the other way.
5. Open an NRI account and slowly transferring the money offshore. We need a passport and visa for opening an NRI account. No pan card required.  Deposit Rs 25 lakhs per month. Better still start by opening a NRO account.

The bankers offered to visit the client’s residence to open an account and collect the money. One has to watch the video clippings to see the level of customer service provided by the bankers. No one can say they were not being helpful.

2. Standard response from senior management

As expected the senior management of the banks denied all knowledge, claimed they maintained highest ethical standards, suspended the branch managers and the staff, and commenced an internal investigation. But this is an open secret. Every business person in India knows that the banks will help them convert black money into white and transfer illegal money. If it was not so, how can a parallel black money economy exist in India for so long. Did the expose really shock anyone?

3. Lip service by regulators

Of course Reserve Bank of India has given detailed guidelines on Know Your Customer and submission of suspicious transaction reporting. There is only theoretical application of guidelines of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Anti Money Laundering (AML) standards and on Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT). The Financial Intelligence Unit of India received just over 30,000 suspicious transaction reports in 2011-2012. It received 100,00,000 cash transaction reports. If you read these numbers in reference to the size of banking business in India, it would not be even .01% of the total yearly transactions.

In February 2012, the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation had said that Indians have $500 billion of illegal funds in foreign tax havens, more than any other country. Some reports estimate the amount over a trillion.

Hence, can we actually believe that regulators and bankers are serious about preventing money laundering in India? The annual report 2011-2012 of Financial Intelligence Unit doesn’t really mention any investigations done that would make the bankers uncomfortable. In India the detection and investigation capabilities of financial regulators is still in nascent stages.  Unlike US which has full-fledged organizations and systems to check money laundering.

Closing Thoughts

In the pursuit of growth numbers bankers are willing to compromise ethics and legal requirements. However, in Indian society because of the high level corruption, most businesses are doing the same. In such a scenario, it amounts to pot calling the kettle black. Unless we really get serious about removing corruption, as a society we can’t succeed. Some things required are – public to withdraw support from companies using unethical practices to succeed, regulators take organizations to task, and government prosecutes politicians and other individuals for dealing with illicit money. Till this happens only media will benefit by doing exposes to improve their ratings.

References:

1. Cobra Post Expose
2. Financial Intelligence Unit India
3. Black Money Market in India

Fraud Risk Management in Ancient India

Presently, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of India lacks sufficient powers to initiate investigations and prosecute. The Central Bureau of Intelligence isn’t independent due to which politicians escape prosecution for corruption and money laundering. Indian police force Economic Crime wing doesn’t have expertise in dealing with electronic and financial frauds. The legal system is pathetic and takes a long time to prosecute white-collar criminals. India has a shortfall of trained fraud investigators as it hardly has any courses for students in this line.

All these aspects may make you think that Indians are new to the concept of fraud risk management. This is far from the truth. Kautilya addressed financial fraud risks in 4^th century BC and most of the concepts are still used presently. Let me narrate you some of the concepts he formulated in earlier times.

1.      Formation of a Central Investigation Agency

Kautilya proposed a central investigation agency for a kingdom to do espionage work. A network of spies located in different parts of the kingdom reported information to their handlers. The handlers in turn checked the authenticity of the information from three sources and if correct reported to the agency. The spies did not have direct contact with the agency to conceal true identities..

Spy selection depended on character and social position. Spies were recruited from all sections of society. Spies were positioned in all the departments and commercial ventures of the king to ensure that the head of the departments do not abuse their power or cheat the king. Women were considered particularly useful to penetrate wealthy households to get the inside story. In current India, there is a scarcity of female fraud investigators as it now considered a masculine job. However, in ancient India, women investigators and spies were quite common.

2.      Types of Financial Frauds

Kautilya identified 40 ways of embezzlement. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Overpricing and under-pricing of goods
• Incorrect recording of quantity of raw material and other stocks
• Misappropriation of funds
• Teaming and lading
• Misrepresentation of sources of income
• Incorrect recording of debtors and creditors
• Incorrect valuing and distribution of gifts
• Inconsistency in donations and distributions for charity
• Misappropriating goods during barter exchange
• Manipulating weights and tools for measurement
• Misrepresentation of test marks or the standard of fineness (of gold and silver)

It is interesting to note that Kautilya mentioned most of the frauds that occur in accounting and preparation of financial statements. It shows human psychology has remained the same. However, in India the value system has deteriorated that has resulted in increased fraud and corruption. In olden times, the value of honour was held high. For example, the prime thought in Hindi was - “prann jiye pur vachan na jiye.” (meaning – it is better to lose one’s life rather than go back on a verbal promise given)

3.      Mechanism for Investigation and Punishment

The investigation process was quite similar to the current process followed. Information was initially gathered regarding the fraud from informants, spies, whistle blowers and audits. Background information of the suspects was gathered by sending spies to their residence and business premises.

Subsequently, the people involved, the suspects and witnesses were interrogated. Kautilya suggested separately examining ” the treasurer (nidháyaka), the prescriber (nibandhaka), the receiver (pratigráhaka), the payer (dáyaka), the person who caused the payment (dápaka), the ministerial servants of the officer (mantri-vaiyávrityakara)” for financial frauds. If any person lied, s/he received the same punishment as the main culprit.

Another fascinating aspect is that India doesn’t not have any law similar to the whistle blower provisions of Dodd Frank Act. However, Kautilya proposed -  “Any informant (súchaka) who supplies information about embezzlement just under perpetration shall, if he succeeds in proving it, get as reward one-sixth of the amount in question; if he happens to be a government servant (bhritaka), he shall get for the same act one-twelfth of the amount.”

The punishment for fraud depended on the nature and value of fraud. It ranged from nominal fines to death penalty. The victim was compensated for the losses suffered.

Closing Thoughts

The processes proposed by Kautilya for fraud detection were followed even until the Moghul rule. However, these were dismantled during the time of British Rule as the Indian Penal Code was formulated.  The difference between Mogul rule was that Moguls settled in India, marriages took place between Indian royalty and Mogul rulers and the culture got integrated over time.

The British came to rule for economic purposes. They wished to take advantage of India’s natural resources and vibrant economy. They levied their own rules and did not integrate them with the Indian culture. Hence, over time the Indian value system was lost or kept for namesake only. Overtime, as even after independence the British education system was used, a split ethical value system developed between personal values and business ethics. Therefore, corruption increased in the business environment till it became all-pervasive in the society. It is going to take a lot of effort to change the system now. No short-term solutions  will work.

Accounting and Auditing in Ancient India

Professionals want to know the origin of their profession, the work done in olden times and the level of knowledge. I thought of sharing with you the history of Indian accounting and auditing profession. I discovered in Kautilya’s Arthshastra that it existed in ancient India in 4^th century BC. Therefore, my guess is that it would have originated at least a few centuries earlier.  The accounting principles and standards used in the present century are similar to those that existed in the 4^th century BC. This nugget of information may have surprised you.

Broadly, Kautilya’s Arthshastra covers accounting principles and standards, role and responsibilities of accountants and auditors, the methodology of accounting, auditing and fraud risk management, and the role of ethics in managing financial activities. Let me share some of the concepts with you in the next couple of posts.

1.     Maintenance of Accounts

The accounting financial year was fixed to July-June period and with a full process for closure of accounts and audit of the same. It covered the method of consolidating the accounts from various departments of the government to assess the net income and loss. The accountants were required to furnish the completed annual accounts to the head office mid-July. Delay and/or failure to do so attracted financial penalties.

 2.  Classification of Receipts

 Kautilya states that “receipts may be (1) current, (2) last balance, and (3) accidental (anyajátah= received from external source).” In it, he differentiates between cash receipts and debtors, current and accrued income, income from other sources, windfall gains, and recovery of bad debts. He recognized the concept of risk and suggested different rate of interests for loans. Foreign trade loan attracted the highest interest, as the returns were uncertain.

3. Classification of Expenditure

Expenditure classification was similar to receipts classification and included the differentiation between capital expenditure and revenue expenses. Kautilya described it as – “Expenditure is of two kinds—daily expenditure and profitable expenditure.” The difference between income and expenditure was termed as “net balance”. He insisted on making long-term investments in construction and other works as these would generate profits over a period. It also entailed keeping track of work in progress.

4. Role and responsibility of accountants

A hierarchical organization structure of senior to junior accountants existed within the king’s treasury function. The accountants maintained books of accounts on an annual basis according to prescribed standards. The same were furnished for audit at year-end. Kautilya suggested good salaries to accountants and auditors as high income would keep them ethical. Accountants would be more prone to commit fraud if they earned very little.

5.     Segregation of Roles of Treasury and Auditor

The fascinating part of Kautilya’s approach was that he recognized conflict of interest between finance and auditing functions. He categorically stated that the head of finance and head of audit should independently and separately report to the king. He recognized the possibility of collision between the two. In India, in the government the Comptroller General of Audit and Ministry of Finance are two separate functions. However, in the corporate world still in quite a few companies chief audit executive are reporting to chief financial officer rather than the chief executive officer.

6.     Building an Ethical Culture

Kautilya believed character reflected personal values of individual and ethical values learning must commence from childhood. Even as an adult ethical conduct was as important as professional skills. He proposed measures to build ethical climate in the kingdom. However, he was practical and recognized the potential of corruption. In accounting, he talked about misstating financial statements due to abuse of power and fraudulent reporting. He devised a system of reward and punishment to ensure compliance to rules and regulations.

7.     Verification and Auditing of Accounts

The concept of continuous monitoring, periodical auditing, verification and vouching existed in ancient times. Checks were done daily and periodically (five nights, pakshás, months, four-months, and the year). The attributes used in the present day for verifying income and payment vouchers were also used in earlier times. Interestingly, each department had spies to provide information and report wrongdoing to the seniors. There was a full process for discovering fraudulent transactions and punishing accountants for misstating financial statements. I shall cover that in the next post.

Closing Thoughts

Kautilya prescribed the accounting theory that included bookkeeping, preparation of financial statements, auditing and fraud risk management. He considered accounting as an integral part of economics. Various kingdoms in India used his work until the 15^th century AD i.e. before the colonial rule. I am not aware whether similar level of knowledge existed in other parts of the world before the Christian era. If you do have information, please share it with me. It will be an enthralling journey into the past.

References:

Kautilya’s Arthshastra 

Money Can Buy Everything

A woman called me up recently and said that someone is willing to pay her huge amount of money for investment in her business. Problem was, they did not want to disclose their identity and would be transferring money from Sri Lanka. I told her I suspected that the people involved are attempting money laundering. She believed the same and refused the transfer of funds.

I realized that the people behind white-collar crime believe one thing – “Money can buy everything”. That is the core motivation. Otherwise, professionals earning huge salaries would not be rationalizing fraud. The American money market economy reiterates this concept; hence, even the normal people are pursuing money blindly. All relationships and every person seem to have a price. So let me ask you the question:

Now let me paint you a picture of the future world. In that world you do not have to produce kids, no woman has to get pregnant and tolerate the pregnancy woes for nine months. Whenever you feel like becoming a parent, you just have to visit a shop. Lifeless kids’ bodies are available of all sizes and shapes. When you choose one, the shopkeeper installs a battery and wham, the kid is alive. You can choose a new-born, a two-year-old etc. at a certain price.

Next, you don’t have to train the child on anything if you don’t want to. You have the option of raising the child the normal way or using patches. For example, if you wish your child to learn cricket, you just purchase a patch and install it, and the kid knows cricket.

Contemplate the advantages of this situation. As a parent, you won’t have to spend countless hours changing dirty nappies and watching the child struggle to learn to walk and talk. Mothers won’t have to sacrifice their professional and social life. You won’t have to sacrifice Dhoni and teams match to watch your son’s floundering attempts on the cricket field. You won’t have to watch your daughters giving a disastrous dance performance. After these, you won’t have to give a beaming smile and make it sound that it was the greatest performance in the world. You won’t have to make any sacrifices. There will be no pain, no tears of frustration and no disappointments. So now, let me ask you a question.

If you have answered that you would prefer the natural way, then the question is why? Why choose hard work, heartbreak and pain over an automatic high quality child? The reason goes back to root of our psychology. Raising a child gives purpose and meaning to the life. When our child does well, we feel a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment and pride. The joy and happiness we get are worth all the tears, heart breaks and sacrifices. Parents put their life on hold for 20 years to raise a child and then the child leaves home to make his/her own life. If you look it from a financial angle, it doesn’t sound much of a deal. Yet, nearly every adult wants to do it.

If I look this from another angle, another basic human need is sex. Hence, according to this viewpoint  prostitution should be legal in all countries (It is illegal in India). There should be no moral judgment on purchasing sex. The question is then why do the people who use prostitutes don’t stay with them? Why do they come back home? Why do most of them go back to the same prostitute rather than try a new one every time? The reason is simple. However good the sex was, it doesn’t give a sense of belonging. Objects don’t give happiness, relationships do. Commoditizing takes away the warmth, peace and happiness.

The same difference applies for money earned through hard work and by frauds. Money earned the wrong way doesn’t give you pride and joy. I think all of us remember our first salary and the sense of “I did it”. The salary was peanuts in comparison to twenty years of studying hard. But we remember the first salary till our dying day.

In my opinion, money can only give a comfortable standard of living and nothing more. We don’t even need money even power, recognition and status. We simply are getting lost in the mad race.

Closing Thoughts

Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary, one of the most recognized and respected leaders of the 20^th century. Even in this day and age, his dhoti, shawl and chapel can be purchased in India in less than Rs 1000/-. In President Obama’s inauguration ceremonies, Michelle Obama’s clothes were a topic of discussion. Some would argue that present days leaders need it. I think if Gandhi ji had been alive today, he would be living in less than Rs 20,000/- a month.  We need to re-look where we are heading in the mindless pursuit of money while convincing ourselves that our life in other areas is fine. As Mahatma Gandhi said – “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other departments. Life is one indivisible whole.”

Risk Management Lessons Learnt in 2012

For risk managers 2012 was an eventful year. The frequency of ethical breaches, regulatory failures, operational disasters and natural calamities ensured that risk managers have their hands full and are not going to run out of work in 2013. In effect, risk management function is at a strategic inflection point and is facing disruption risks. Globalization, rapidly changing technology, economic recession in Europe, political turmoil in Middle East, growth of emerging markets and global warming has changed the risk landscape. Throw out of the window the old stance of managing risks by implementing controls and focusing just on financial processes and operational risks. The 21^st century demands risk managers to focus on strategic, cultural, leadership and human resource risks. This is a bold statement to make, so here are my reasons for making the same. Do you think I am on the right track?

1.      Banking Sector Culture Needs Overhauling

Though I have not done a tally of regulatory fines paid by banks during the year, the numbers are awesome. It the status quo remains the same, paying billion dollar fines will soon become fashionable. The way bankers are behaving, if culture does not change, they will start a competition on who pays the biggest fine and gets away with it. It is clear that bankers gave a lot of lip service of changing to the public after the financial crises. Nothing much changed and they remained complacent with their ability to escape any personal loss due to reckless behaviour. Even with fines, it is investor loss with hardly any personal responsibility. 2013 will determine whether bankers can do the right thing for the right reasons in the right way.

2.      No One is Too Big to Go to Jail

2012 showed that breaking the law isn’t an option for top guns. Big names, for instance, Rajat Gupta and Rebecca Brooks realized the arms of law are long enough to reach them. The psychology that it only is a crime if one gets caught needs to change. A connection even with the Prime Minister doesn’t insulate a person from being held legally accountable.

The downside of capitalism is that business ethics are put on a back burner in pursuit of profitability. 2013 will see the trend of businesses focusing on building ethical cultures.

3.  Senior Management Fails At A Higher Rate

Throughout the year, one heard senior managers being fired for poor performance, regulatory breaches, criminal acts or inability to keep their pants zipped. Tragic but true, that senior managers are failing to walk the talk and assume leadership is about playing power games. They ignore everything in pursuit of a bigger pay packet. It isn’t that leaders didn’t fail previously, but now they make headlines at global level.

Additionally, social media and increasing percentage of women in the workforce has made old management and leadership styles redundant. Flatter organization structures are replacinghierarchical styles. Collaboration is in focus rather than competition. Boomers are leading most organizations, and their style of leadership is passé. Hence, in 2013 we are going to witness higher leadership failures unless organizations start managing leadership risks.

 4. Regulators Take A Tougher Stance

Worldwide regulators have changed their stance. Be it Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Department of Justice of USA or Financial Services Authority of UK, regulators are beating the drums for better compliance. From asking the biggest names in banking to give explanations to holding government accountable for incorrect decisions, they are leaving nothing out of the ambit. They are leading the path for risk managers to follow. In 2013, we are going to see a spate of disclosures from regulators.

Closing Thoughts

Whether we see the banking failure reports, or other aspects of business, risk managers knew and understood the risks. However, they decided to play it safe and not bell the cat. Challenging and confronting business leaders at the expense of ruining ones career can be a tough decision. One avoids the decision, especially when, the lines of accountability state that final responsibility of managing risks lies with the business leaders. However, in the times ahead risk managers won’t have this luxury. They will have to stick their neck out to ensure organization stays legally compliant and manages risks optimally.  I don’t know whether this makes risk managers happy. In my view, in 2013 we should take it up as a challenge and change the dynamics of the risk management function.

Wish you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year.

Two Lessons from Purti Group Investigations

Nitin Gadkari, the BJP President, is under the scanner in respect to his Purti group. The allegations are that multiple layers of companies were created with numerous ghost investors. Some of the companies exist only on paper and the directors are all employees of Mr Gadkari. The Income Tax department and the Registrar of Companies have commenced investigations after the stories appeared in the media. I have a couple of questions about the whole thing.

1.     Unqualified Directors

Until fourteen months back, Mr Gadkari was the chairman of Purti Power and Sugar Limited (PPSL). Presently Mr Sudhir Wamanrao Diwe, Mr Gadkari’s personal assistant is the managing director. Moreover, as per media reports “four directors of Purti’s investment companies  - Kawdu Zade, Manohar Panse, Nishant Agnihotri and Sagar Vikaskotwaliwale – are either close associates or employees of Gadkari. While Zade is the accountant of Gadkari’s household, Peens is his driver.” Additionally, the four were directors in 16 corporate companies holding major shares in PPSL before 2010.

A fundamental question out here is why the director’s profession is a big deal. As per company law, any one can obtain a Director Identification Number (DIN) and be a director of the company. The DIN application requests for the residential address of the person. No details regarding professional qualifications or background are required.

The joke doing the rounds is that every driver now wants to be Nitin Gadkari’s driver. Seriously speaking, the onus of responsibility of appointing well-qualified directors rests with the promoters. It is their choice. In most cases, directors are friends and acquaintances of Chairman or CEO. Hence, the question is should the Corporate Laws be modified to ensure the quality of directors appointed?

2.     Fictitious Addresses of Companies

The second issue is that a number of group companies of PPSL are not operating from the addresses given to the Registrar of Companies. IT department visited the addresses in Mumbai including Damji Shamji Trade Centre at Vidyavihar (West), Dube Chawl at Andheri Kurla Road, two locations at Fort and Gupta Compound at Thane.

Further, as per Times of India – “four shareholding companies — Seven-Eleven Sales and Marketing Pvt Ltd, Ashwami Sales and Marketing Pvt, Nivita Trades Pvt Ltd and Rigma Fintrade Pvt Ltd — were shown as operating from the Vidyavihar office. Interestingly, at least three of these offices had earlier shown a room at Dube Chawl at the Andheri Kurla Road as their address. TOI’s investigation had found that the offices never existed in the chawl.

TOI had earlier reported that some two dozen companies had unverifiable addresses.”

As per the Companies Law while getting incorporated promoters have to give the correspondence address till its registered office is established. Secondly, the law states:

“(1) A company shall, on and from the fifteenth day of its incorporation and at all times thereafter, have a registered office capable of receiving and acknowledging all communications and notices as may be addressed to it.

(2) The company shall furnish to the Registrar verification of its registered office within a period of thirty days of its incorporation in such manner as may be prescribed.”

Since the companies were incorporated a decade back, the basic question is where the communication was sent from the Registrar of Companies. Secondly, at the time of registration and future years why the Registrar of Companies missed out that a multi-crore business is being run from a chawl . Is that not sufficient to raise alarm bells? How did the auditors of the company approve the corporate governance standard and where did they audit the books?

This would not be a one off case. There would be numerous cases where the registered address is fictitious despite that fact that Company Law prescribes serious penalties for furnishing incorrect information at the time of incorporation. Hence, the question is why are the review and investigation procedures at Registrar of Companies not improved to reduce wrongdoing?

Closing thoughts

The case has highlighted the prevailing malpractices in the corporate world. As the investigations are going on more dirt will be uncovered. However, the government instead of making a Congress – BJP power struggle, should introduce legal processes and procedures to curb these misconducts. The government should modify the new companies bill to address these loopholes. Lastly, the auditors liability for signing off on corporate governance standard of the company should be clearly mentioned when the basic tenants are not met.

References:

I-T heat on companies linked to Nitin Gadkari

Coal Gate Scam – Should Auditors Comment on Policy Decisions?

The Coal Gate Scam report has squarely put the loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crores (USD 35. 097 billion) at the Prime Ministers door. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report states that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to introduce competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks way back in October 2004. However, his office indulged in delay tactics of approving the revised policy. This resulted in allocation of coal blocks according to the old policy introduced in 1993. Failure to use competitive bidding resulted in a loss of Rs. 1.86 lakh crores (USD 35.097 billion).

This raises interesting questions from the corporate sector perspective. Should auditors see the validity and applicability of policies? Alternatively, should they restrict their role to the compliance of existing policies?  What happens when a policy or standard operating procedure of an organization is redundant however is still being followed? If competitors are using better processes, technology and policies than the organization, what role should auditors play in it?

1.     Delaying Policies Becomes a Political Game

According to the CAG report, the Screening Committee allocated blocks and the process lacked transparency. Allegations are that private companies with political links benefited at the expense of others. However, competitive bidding policy could have been introduced with an amendment from the administrative desk. Prime Minister’s role becomes critical as he was also fulfilling the responsibilities of Minister of Coal. CAG says he made it into a bigger issue that the policy should be changed for all minerals and not just coal; hence the process for making such large-scale policy change was different. This allowed the coal ministry to follow the 1993 process.

This happens in the corporate sector too. For instance, an employee or a small group suggest a change to an existing control process that will take just one man-month effort. Some others with vested interests do not wish for the change to occur. However, they can’t reject the suggestion for strengthening controls without looking bad. Hence, to stall the project, they add a few more suggestions which make the project larger into 24 man-months effort. Now the change can only happen once the huge budget is approved. Since, the project is not priority; it stays on the bottom of the budget approval list. Hence, status quo remains and subsequently someone exploits the control weakness to conduct a fraud.

In such a situation, as an internal auditor would you highlight the initial attempt to strengthen controls and put responsibility on the other group for delaying the change? Do we as internal auditors go back in such depth to find out what projects or policies were kept pending approval and they had such a huge negative impact?

2.     Auditor’s Role in Policy Review

The Supreme Court has upheld CAGs power to comment on policies. Justices R M Lodha and A R Dave bench said “Do not confuse the constitutional office of CAG with that of an auditor of a company or corporation.” This response was in respect to a petitioner’s contention that CAG should restrict itself to auditing expenditure and not comment on the government’s rational of policy decisions. The bench had further added – “CAG is not the traditional Munimji to prepare only balance sheets. It is constitutionally mandated to examine the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the decisions of the government in using resources. If the CAG will not do this, then who will?“

This viewpoint raises some interesting points for internal auditors in the corporate world. Should auditors be commenting on strategic or policy decisions of the company?

For instance, the company decides to use print media for advertising open job positions. However, it is much cheaper to use job portals and social media. These significantly reduce the cost of recruitment. Should an auditor restrict himself to checking that all expenditure is authentic or question the hiring policy?

Another aspect is the strategy decisions. Let us say, Company A decided not to enter into the emerging markets, whereas Company B operating in the same industry entered the emerging markets and increased the profitability tremendously. Should an auditor audit strategic decisions, and not just say that it is management responsibility. Where is the line of demarcation drawn in respect of corporate internal audit?

Institute of Internal Auditors new standard applicable from 2013 ‘Achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives’ states that – “The internal audit activity must evaluate risk exposures relating to the organization’s governance, operations, and information systems regarding the achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives”.  Hence, should we conclude that evaluating strategic decisions comes under internal audit purview?

3.     Auditor’s Role in Calculating Presumptive Loss

The CAG audit reports on 2G licenses and Coal Block allocations have raised a storm due to the calculation of presumptive loss figures. The government’s contention is that CAG should not be calculating the opportunity loss, as policy decisions are taken to benefit the public.

CAG however, contended that – “We had never commented on government policies, neither did we ever say that auction was the only route or that all natural resources should be auctioned. In both 2G spectrum licences and coal block allocations, we had only commented on the ‘effectiveness or non-implementation’ of policies. The presumptive loss or windfall gain figures are only to highlight the serious issues of an act of commission during implementation of government policies.”

In the corporate world, internal auditors make an observation and restrict their recommendations to suggest improvements. In rare cases, a cost-benefit analysis is done on the impact of the control weakness. We generally fail to draw management attention to the seriousness of the issue, as they are no numbers given. Should corporate internal auditors change their approach to audit work to give a cost-benefit analysis for their observations? Will that garner more attention from the management and initiate action?

Closing Thoughts

These are questions worth debating about and there are no easy answers. The business world internal auditors can learn quite a few lessons from the government auditors. They are doing a good job of raising contentious issues. Below is a poll to assess your views.

References:

1. CAG not a ‘munimji’ of govt’s balance sheet: SC
2. CoalGate: CAG does not let Manmohan, PMO off the hook
3.  Performance Audit of Allocation of Coal Blocks and Augmentation of Coal Production (Ministry of Coal)

Auditor’s Communication With Audit Committee

Finally, the US audit committees will be getting the full picture of the financial statements from the auditors. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB” or the “Board”) of US  is adopting Auditing Standard No. 16 – Communications with Audit Committees. It is aimed at improving dialogue between auditors and audit committees to enable better oversight and financial reporting.

The scope of communications has increased from the previous practice of discussing – accounting policies, procedures and estimates, quality of financial reporting, unusual transactions and significant auditing and accounting matters. It covers a  more matters that will increase clarity.

Previously the status of communication was aptly described by George Bernard Shaw’s quote – “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Audit committees in my view lacked critical information . Secondly, as there is a shortage of financial experts (just one is mandatory) they were in no position to analyse the details of the financial statements. It was easy to hide artistic accounting from them. This standard will reduce communication gap between the auditors and audit committee.

In India, though the roles and responsibilities of the auditor and audit committee are defined in the Listing Agreement of SEBI and New Companies Bill, the nature, content and quality of communication is not specified. It mandates audit committee should meet at least four times a year, however doesn’t shed light on the quality of discussion to take place. The audit committees in India, are required to look into loan transactions, related party transactions and a couple of other things. These requirements are not mentioned in the list below.

In brief, as per Auditing Standard No. 16 the auditor would be required to communicate the following to the audit committee:

a.  The terms of appointment and engagement, objective of the audit, and responsibilities of management and auditor.

b. An overview of the overall audit strategy, including timing of the audit, significant risks the auditor identified including risk assessment procedures, and significant changes to the planned audit strategy or identified risks;

c. Information about the nature and extent of specialized skill or knowledge needed in the audit, the extent of the planned use of internal auditors, company personnel or other third parties, and other independent public accounting firms, or other persons not employed by the auditor that are involved in the audit;

d. The basis for the auditor’s determination that he or she can serve as principal auditor, if significant parts of the audit will be performed by other auditors;

e. Significant accounting policies and practices including changes. Reasons certain policies and procedures were considered critical and the effect on them in respect to current and future events. Effect of policies and disclosures in controversial area and where there is lack of authoritative guidance.

f. Situations in which the auditor identified a concern regarding management’s anticipated application of accounting pronouncements that have been issued but are not yet effective and might have a significant effect on future financial reporting;

g. Description of process for developing critical accounting estimates including the significant assumptions. If any significant changes are made in the process or estimates.

h. Significant unusual transactions with policy and procedures used by management for accounting unusual transaction;

i. Quality of financial reporting including whether auditor identified bias in management’s judgement about the amounts and disclosures in financial statements. Assessment and conclusion of critical accounting policies. Auditor’s understanding of the business rationale for significant unusual transactions.

j. The results of auditor’s evaluation about financial statement presentation. Whether the reporting including form, content and arrangement are in conformity to standards.

k. Difficult or contentious matters for which auditors consulted external consultants

l. Auditor is aware management consulted external sources, the auditors should also give their opinion;

m. The auditor’s evaluation of going concern;

n. Uncorrected and corrected mis-statements including those discussed with management;

o. Material written communication with management

p. Disagreements with the management

q. Departure from the auditor’s standard report;

r. Difficulties encountered in performing the audit, and

s. Other matters arising from the audit that are significant to the oversight of the company¡¦s financial reporting process, including complaints or concerns regarding accounting or auditing matters.

Closing thoughts

The various auditing and accounting standards in India cover most of the points mentioned above. The auditor is required to ensure conformity to the standards and comment on the same if there are variances. However, there is no specific guideline for communication between auditor and audit committee. As the US standard just defines minimum communication requirements it would be beneficial to formulate and adopt a similar one in India and other countries. It will ensure a specific level of interaction with auditor and audit committee is maintained and the audit committee makes informed decisions.

What do you say? Should there be a global standard for communication with audit committees? What other steps can be taken to reduce barriers to communication between the auditor and audit committees?

References:

PCAOB Adopts Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, and Amendments to other PCAOB Standards

 

Why Auditors Fail To Detect Frauds?

When media reports a new fraud, the first few thoughts of public are – “What were the auditors doing? How did they miss it? Were they involved?” The auditors get labelled as morons, conspirators or criminals. Generally most people jump to the conclusion that auditors had malafide intentions and became accomplices to get more business. While this may be true in some cases, auditors need the benefit of doubt. They sometimes genuinely miss the cases despite their best effort to diligently perform their duties. This post is an attempt to explain why auditors miss the frauds.

I want to share a joke with you before I explain. Two drunkards were walking on a railway track. The first said to other – “I am really tired, I hope the steps will end soon.” The second replied – ‘Yeah. I wish they had put the handrails at a better height, my back is killing me.”

1. Auditors responsibility to detect frauds

We can laugh at this, but if I say most of us don’t see clearly, there will a lot of angry reactions. So I am not saying anything, and am requesting you to watch this video.

Now did you see the moon walking bear?

Auditors have the same problem. They have to to give a true and fair opinion on the financial statements. They are not required to focus on detecting frauds. Hence, the audit programs are not designed to conduct tests to  detect fraud symptoms and probability. Therefore, with no specific coverage auditors fail at detecting frauds. Extract from Section 143 of New Companies Bill is given below:

“The auditor shall make a report to the members of the company on the accounts examined by him and on every financial statements which are required by or under this Act to be laid before the company in general meeting and the report shall after taking into account the provisions of this Act, the accounting and auditing standards and matters which are required to be included in the audit report under the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder or under any order made under sub-section (11) and to the best of his information and knowledge, the said accounts, financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs as at the end of its financial year and profit or loss and cash flow for the year and such other matters as may be prescribed.”

2. Auditors punishment on failure

The second question frequently debated is – “Should auditors be punished if they fail to detect frauds?” Section 147, clause 4 of New Companies Bill states auditor’s liabilities in respect to fraud in the following words:

“Where, in case of audit of a company being conducted by an audit firm, it is proved that the partner or partners of the audit firm has or have acted in a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud by, or in relation to or by, the company or its directors or officers, the liability, whether civil or criminal as provided in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, for such act shall be of the partner or partners of the audit firm and of the firm jointly and severally and such partner or partners of the audit firm shall also be punishable in the manner as provided in section 447.”

This clause puts auditors on shaky ground. It is difficult to prove innocence once a fraud is detected. How can an auditor state – “I did my work properly, saw these documents, looked at the same audit evidence but didn’t find anything wrong with it.” Most will jump to the conclusion that the auditor knowingly ignored all the evidence. So here is another video. Watch it, and then you will see how this situation can occur.

According to various experiments, 75% of the people failed to observe the person swap in the experiment.

Think of this from an audit evidence perspective. An auditor is checking 100 vouchers with supports. One voucher among the 100 is fraudulent. What is the probability of the auditor noticing it? One can safely assume that it will be less than 25%.

Is it surprising that auditors fail to detect frauds after seeing these experiments. Though they are trained, they are human. The same psychology works with them too.

Closing thoughts

The success rate of detecting frauds will be higher when the auditors – external and internal – have specific responsibility to detect frauds. Without the specific responsibility, regulators can continue to complain and investors will share their anguish, however all will be futile. The laws need to be devised to hold someone responsibly for detecting frauds. What is your opinion?

A modified version of this article was published in the Middle East Accountant Magazine.