The disciplinary action committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) would soon come up with its final report on the role of internal audit head of erstwhile Satyam Computer Services, VS Prabhakar Gupta. Gupta has been charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation of breach of trust and forgery

The disciplinary committee is doing the needful and if need be it would take appropriate action, G Ramaswamy, president, ICAI, told reporters on Saturday just after taking over as the head of the institute. We cannot say how long it would take to come to a conclusion.

The ICAI has issued separate notices to six auditors including Gupta, in connection with the Satyam fraud case.

With a view to bringing in more accountability, the institute has also sought changes in the statutes to impose penalties on erring firms.

We have sent a proposal to the government to allow us to take action against erring CA firms. We have proposed that  steps like cancellation of registration or imposition of fine of up to Rs 1 crore on firms found guilty of colluding with companies to commit a fraud, he said.

The ICAI had earlier sent its recommendations to the government, seeking more teeth and regulatory powers. The institute has also underlined the need to be allowed to take action against any audit firm in case of discrepancy or doctoring of records. At present, individual chartered accountants are held responsible for any accountancy fraud but there is no accountability linked to audit firms.

The proposal is with the government and we are hopeful that it should be done soon, Ramaswamy said.