The updated standards would extend to a number of entities, with 17,540 listed holding companies and their subsidiaries, both listed and unlisted, falling under the revised SA 600

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) on Tuesday brought out revised Standards on Auditing 600 (SA) to match the International Standards on Auditing (ISA 600), for public consultations to address “the severely deficient quality and serious lack of due diligence” found in group audits in India.

The watchdog's consultation paper on the standard also comes against the backdrop of instances of the quality of audit in respect of group audits — where SA 600 is applicable — being found deficient a

The SA 600, as it exists today, does not permit review of work papers of component auditors by the principal auditor, the NFRA mentioned.

As per the revised norms, the group auditor would be responsible for the audit work done by other auditors for group entities.

NFRA proposes changes to auditing standard SA 600, aiming to protect investors' interest and address concerns over audit quality in group companies.