The inherent conflict in accounting firms providing both auditing and consulting services to clients persists despite various regulatory and self-correcting steps. Will these conflicts ever reconcile and if so, what will it take?
A few days ago, markets were rattled by Deloitte’s resignation as statutory auditor of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. The reason for the resignation furthered by the company was its inability to satiate Deloitte’s desire for more audit work across the Adani group. The reality was more nuanced, which we wrote about last week.
Beyond the reasons for the resignation, for me, the whole episode brought to the fore the issue of audit firm revenue, the firm-client relationship dynamics that drive it and the role of audit partners in generating it.
This an evergreen issue—alongside the perennial …
Ujval leads our Business vertical at The Morning Context. In a corporate career spanning 14 years, he has worked across startups, consulting firms, multinational corporations and large Indian companies, including India Infoline, ICICI, KPMG, Tata Steel and Jubilant Pharma. Ujval has been a freelance writer and trainer for eight years, with bylines in Forbes India and The Economic Times.
Editor, Business
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