A regular Secretarial Audit can help a company. It can guide the company to take corrective actions and improve its compliance methods. It is recommended that the Secretarial Audit is done regularly (quarterly, every half year, or annually). Any negative findings should be reported to the Board right away. The Secretarial Audit Report needs to be added to the Board's report. This should be done before the Board's Report is prepared.
What are events & actions required to be reported by the Secretarial Auditor in the audit report?The Secretarial Auditor needs to give details about certain events and actions. These events and actions must have had a big impact on the company during the reporting period. This is according to the laws, rules, and regulations mentioned above. Some events are also given as examples in the audit report format.
What is the minimum fees to be charged with respect to conducting of secretarial audit?The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) doesn't set a minimum fee for a Secretarial Audit by a practicing Company Secretary. But the Company Secretary should decide the fee based on the company's nature and size, the type of company, and the work needed for the audit. The member should keep the audit process at a high standard and quality.
What are the rights and duties of a Secretarial Auditor under the Companies Act, 2013?Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013 talks about the roles and rights of Auditors. Sub-section (14) says that this section also applies to a Company Secretary in Practice doing a Secretarial Audit under section 204. This means the rules for Auditors also apply to them.
Who has to obtain a Secretarial Audit Report?As per Section 204(1) of Companies Act, 2013, the following companies are required to obtain Secretarial Audit Report in Form MR-3:
Only members of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India holding Certificate of Practice can conduct Secretarial Audit and submit the report in Form MR-3 to the management.
What if the Secretarial Audit is not conducted?If any company official, the company itself or the concerned company secretary is found to contravene the stated provisions of the aforesaid section, the official, company or the practicing company secretary shall be liable for punishment. The punishment will be added with a fine starting from Rs one lakh and may even get extended to Rs 5 lakhs.
What is the format of the Secretarial Audit Report?The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has established the structure for the Secretarial Audit Report, which includes information on the company's compliance with laws and regulations, board and general meeting minutes, share capital and debentures, related party transactions, etc.
Whether the Secretarial Audit is voluntary or mandatory as per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013?
According to the Companies Act, 2013 secretarial audit is required for some classes of corporations. It is not a decision that you make.
Whether fiscal laws need to be examined while conducting a secretarial audit?Indeed, a secretarial audit must consider fiscal rules because the procedure of the audit depends on the company's adherence to tax regulations.