Deloitte to stop offering non-audit services to their audit clients

MUMBAI: Deloitte on Sunday said that it would stop offering non-audit services, like consulting, due diligence or any other advisory service, to the companies and banks they audit.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells and its network firms in India will no longer offer non-audit services to public interest entities that they audit under the laws and regulations in India, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

This comes days after PwC India said that it would stop offering services like consulting or advisory to the companies they are statutory auditors to. Earlier Grant Thornton India too had announced that it will completely stop providing any service to their auditing clients.

Most Indian audit firms operate through network firms. This is mainly because auditors as per the current regulations cannot offer non audit work to any of their clients.

We believe this would increase the public’s confidence in auditor independence and quality and will remove ambiguity in a public and business environment that demands greater clarity about our services.” a spokesperson from Deloitte stated here on Sunday.

The step taken by Deloitte and PwC could mean that they would let go of potential revenues worth hundreds of crores, said people in the know.

This voluntary action is in the spirit of self-regulation and extends beyond non-audit services permissible under prevailing rules and regulations in India. Deloitte Haskins & Sells remains committed to support initiatives which enhance the quality of financial reporting in India, Deloitte said.