The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) is working with market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on proposals that could lead to early detection of corporate frauds in listed companies.

The proposals are likely to advise chartered accountants and auditors, who are in constant touch with company management, to alert regulators whenever they perceive that a fraud is being committed, they said. Early signs of corporate fraud could be a sudden surge in borrowing or related party transactions among others

Chartered accountants can contribute a great deal in tackling corporate fraud as they are aware of a lot of developments happening in the company. Even now, there have been some cases where CAs have acted as whistleblowers but there is a need for a more formal and structured approach towards.

Potential fraud can also be gauged by auditors based on their interactions with the management of companies. Top officials of the company not taking calls from auditors or not providing complete information could indicate that something is a miss….!!