Adani group’s auditing practices need looking into

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Editor's note: Dharmesh Parikh & Co. and Shah Dhandharia & Co. are the two firms largely responsible for auditing the Adani group. But that’s not the only thing they have in common. Moreover, the auditor who signs off on the books of the conglomerate’s flagship company has only five years of professional experience.  These, and more such facts, were thrown up by an investigation that The Morning Context conducted on the Ahmedabad-headquartered group’s auditing practices.   Take, for instance, Shubham Rohatgi, a partner at Shah Dhandharia & Co., which currently audits Adani Enterprises. He received his certification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2017. Rohatgi, along with others at the firm, has also had ties with the other auditing firm in the picture, Dharmesh Parikh & Co.  Moreover, in 2021-22, Adani Enterprises paid a little over Rs 7 crore to its statutory auditors, a modest amount compared to the Rs 84 crore paid by rival Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.  The Adani group raised more than Rs 63,000 crore from banks in the past financial year, has pulled off some of …