Sebi rebuilds panel on disclosure, accounting standards

Sebi has re-constituted its committee which advises the regulator onthe issues related to disclosure requirements and accountingpractices for various entities in the securities market.

A 17-member Committee on Disclosures and Accounting Standards will continue to be chaired by Tata Sons' Director(Finance) Ishaat Hussain.   

Other members on the panel include Wipro CFO and Executive Director Suresh Senapaty, NSE Managing Director andCEO Chitra Ramkrishna, Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia (CAG) Director General AB K P Sasidharan and ICAI's P Vijay Kumar.     

The expert panel also includes representatives from Sebi,Finance Ministry and Corporate Affairs Ministry. The committee was set up in 2006, under the chairmanship of chartered accountant YH Malegam. It is mandated to suggestways to the Sebi to improve disclosure framework for listedcompanies and accounting practices of various market entities. Senior executives of Kotak Mahindra Capital, SBI Capital Markets, Jubilant Life Sciences, Mahindra & Mahindra and Deloitte Haskins and Sells and HDFC Asset Management Company,are also part of the panel.    
The Bombay Shareholders' Association A K Bakliwal andAsish K Bhattacharyya, Professor and Head School of Corporate Governance and Public Policy at Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs are also members of the committee. One of the major terms of reference of this committee isto advise Sebi on issues related to disclosure requirements inthe offer documents, application forms, advertisements and other mode of mass communication by the issuers. Besides, it also advises Sebi on issues related to thecontinuous disclosure requirements pertaining to listing ofequity or debt of an issuer. The panel also has to advise Sebi on issues for addressing the operational and systemic risks,if any, in primary market.     

The committee is further mandated to ensure "smooth implementation of accounting standards, statements, guidance notes and studies evolved by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to the extent that it pertains to disclosures in the capital market documents and fordisclosures related to intermediaries".