The Institute of Company Secretaries of India has sent a letter to the company secretary of Satyam Computer Services, seeking a report on corporate governance, sources said.
The Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, had earlier asked both the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) and ICSI to look into the role of auditors and company secretaries in the case.
“An investigation may be started by ICSI into the involvement of the company secretary in the case and disciplinary action, including termination of membership, will be taken if he is found guilty,” the sources said.
“Section 215 of the Companies Act empowers two directors, one of whom can be the managing director, one manager under the Companies Act and the company secretary to carry out legal authentication of balance sheets. A company secretary, and not the CFO, is thus supposed to get involved in the authentication pro cess,” a source associated with ICSI told Business Line. “The CFO does not come into the picture except for being functionally involved in the process as a convention or practice,” he added.
It is difficult on part of ICSI to regulate and increase vigilance on the activities of individual company secretaries as they handle confidential data difficult to access, he observed.
