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A. Facts of the Case
1. A development resource organisation is involved in the financial management, legal issues and governance of development organisations in South Asia. In the process of monitoring various projects, it assesses the organisations’ financial systems, internal control procedures and other governance issues.
B. Query
2. The querist has sought the opinion of the Expert Advisory Committee on the issue as to what is the position and responsibility of the auditor with regard to signatures on the financial statements and attached schedules both in the Indian context and internationally. In other words, whether it is obligatory for the auditor to sign on each page of the financial statements that are being certified by him.
C. Points considered by the Committee
3. The Committee notes that the basic issue raised by the querist relates to whether the auditor is obliged to authenticate each page of the financial statements and the attached schedules that are being reported upon or being certified by him. The Committee has, therefore, not touched upon any other issue that may relate to the responsibility of the auditor in any other respect. The Committee also notes that the issue raised in the international context is vague and, therefore, cannot be answered by the Committee.
D. Opinion
4. The Committee is of the opinion that in order to ensure that the financial statements and the attached schedules that are part of/annexed to the financial statements are the ones on which the auditor’s report/certificate is being issued, it is necessary for the auditor to authenticate the said documents.
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