Pay up abroad, but play around in India. Are global firms taking Indian regulators for a ride?

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Synopsis
Global audit firms like KPMG have coughed up millions of dollars in multiple recent settlements outside of India. However, when Indian regulators such as NFRA and Sebi take up serious violations, they have taken cover in the Indian judicial process where cases are vacillating for years even without regular hearings.

In December, US audit regulator Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) imposed sanctions on seven entities belonging to the KPMG global network for violations of professional auditing standards, quality control standards and other rules. Among them was KPMG India and its partner Sagar Pravin Lakhani, who settled the matter for USD1 million (INR8.2 crore today) and USD75,000 (INR61 lakh), respectively. PCAOB found that during the

( Originally published on Mar 01, 2023 )