More companies seek external, independent audits

Indian companies are taking visible steps to set up an independent and objective audit system. Companies like Bharti Airtel, Nicholas Piramal, Hindalco etc. are opting for external audit firms as they would bring in best practices that probably wouldn’t be there be there in an internal audit team drawn from the company’s employees. Also, the independence and objectivity that an external agency has is difficult for an audit team consisting of existing employees. These audits are being made an integral part of daily boardroom activity instead of the current practice of doing it for the quarterly or half-yearly financial statements.