BUSINESS
Independent directors must step up to their onerous roles or step back
With the advent of shareholder and media activism, the Companies Act allowing class action suits, increasing oversight by regulators and action by enforcement agencies, the position of independent directors has become highly vulnerable to civil and criminal liability
BUSINESS
Global Biofuel Alliance: Path-breaking move, but many challenges ahead of the goal
Biofuels have been subject to criticism for their socio-economic effects. Their effect on food production and prices, reduction in poverty level and in carbon emissions, deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity has remained in focus
BUSINESS
Box ticking will not work with SEBI’s new ESG framework
The key performance indicators, as sought in the BRSR Core, are quantifiable and do incorporate matrices that reflect sustainability outcomes
BUSINESS
Sustainable Finance: No longer an option but imperative for lenders & borrowers
Sustainable finance is a process of taking due account of ESG considerations when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to increased investments into sustainable economic activities and projects
BUSINESS
RBI framework on wilful default settlement requires prudent & careful implementation by banks
Allowing banks and financial institutions to decide on a detailed policy on compromise settlement based on their prudence and commercial wisdom may be good. This would, however, mean that BFIs will have to exercise greater prudence in framing the policy and extreme care while implementing it
BUSINESS
Failure of Banks and Financial Institutions: Regulators can only have a roadside view of risks
The root cause of the failure of banks and financial institutions has been poor governance and management, and the pursuit of short-term business while ignoring embedded risks. Risk management and compliance management have not received attention despite the regulatory thrust and imperatives
BUSINESS
PMLA changes will make the role of CAs and other professionals highly onerous
Under the PMLA, notified professionals may find it difficult to take the plea that their role is not to detect suspicious transactions while carrying out assignments for and on behalf of the clients
BUSINESS
SEBI’s new requirement for independent assurance and regulated rating will enhance the credibility of ESG disclosure
It is time that companies build capacity and competencies at all levels of management to adequately respond to emerging imperatives
BUSINESS
SVB Collapse: Should auditors be responsible to assess the business model of a company?
It is difficult to say, based on the available reports, whether the auditor exercised adequate due diligence in satisfying himself about the validity of the going concern assumptions underlying the preparation of financial statements
POLITICS
Financing for climate change needs non-conventional approach
Banks and financial institutions need to integrate environmental and social risks into their credit risk assessment metrics, appraisal mechanisms and monitoring mechanisms. The current practice of considering these as one of many factors may not suffice
BUSINESS
Strong internal audit can prevent corporate fraud and failures
Internal auditor can act as a friend, guide, and philosopher in addition to being a watch-and-ward and investigator for frauds. For boards and directors, internal audit can be the first line of defence that they can rely on and use as a shield to prevent and detect fraud
