Now Reading: Sebi gives Deloitte clean chit in Zee Entertainment audit case
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Sebi gives Deloitte clean chit in Zee Entertainment audit case
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) investigated Deloitte Haskins & Sells over its role as Zee Entertainment’s auditor for an unauthorised 2018 property pledge, Livemint reports. The regulator effectively exonerated…
The Story in Brief
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) investigated Deloitte Haskins & Sells over its role as Zee Entertainment’s auditor for an unauthorised 2018 property pledge, Livemint reports. The regulator effectively exonerated the audit firm in its 31 July order, ruling that disclosure responsibility rests with company management, not the auditor.
Sebi barred Zee Entertainment from the securities market for two months and banned promoter Subhash Chandra and MD Punit Goenka for 12 months each. Deloitte had flagged the missing title deed in 2019 but was told the deed was with potential buyers. Zee has appealed to the Securities Appellate Tribunal, saying it needs to sell Rs 1,200 crore in mutual fund investments to fund operations.
The Indian Opinion
The common narrative that auditors catch every corporate fraud gets a reality check here. Sebi rightly notes that statutory auditors are not forensic investigators, they rely on what management tells them. If promoters hide unauthorised pledges, blaming the auditor shifts focus from where it belongs. The real test: will Sebi now use its powers to hold individual directors and promoters directly accountable, or will this case quietly fade?
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
