SEBI'S FORENSIC AUDITOR FLIP-FLOP: A BETRAYAL OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY?

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) must publish a detailed report explaining the selection process of forensic auditors, including the specific criteria applied and the reasons for excluding reputable firms. Without such transparency, SEBI risks eroding trust in its ability to safeguard India's financial markets

- Palak Shah

IN A MOVE THAT REEKS of arbitrariness and secrecy, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has drastically reduced its panel of forensic auditors from 20 firms in 2022 to just nine in 2025, announced on 24 April, 2025. This opaque decision, which excludes industry heavyweights like Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services and Grant Thornton Bharat, while retaining Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India as the sole Big Four representative, raises serious questions about SEBI's adherence to its own eligibility criteria and its commitment to transparency. The new panel - comprising Deloitte, BDO India, Chokshi & Chokshi, CNK & Associates, Jain Chowdhary & Co, Pawan Puri & Associates, Raju & Prasad, Rajvanshi & Associates, and ATK & Associates -will serve for three years. However, SEBI's failure to explain the exclusion of reputable firms, including the highly regarded S. Ravi Ranjan & Co, and its silence on the selection process have sparked outrage, exposing a troubling pattern of behind-closed-doors decision-making by India's premier financial market regulator.

A Sudden U-Turn on Stringent Criteria