The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is alarmed at the pension liability of banks calculated as per 2010 data. Initial calculation done according to 2007 data showed banks will have to bear a cost of only Rs 6000 crore, reports CNBC-TV18’s Gopika Gopakumar.

RBI is concerned at the rise in pension liability of banks in just three years. As per 2010 data, second option pension liability is roughly over Rs 20,000 crore while it was only Rs 6000 crore in 2007.

Meanwhile, banks have written to RBI and Institute of Charted Accountants of India (ICAI) for amortising liability over five years. Hence, banks will have to reveal liability in FY11 balance sheet.

RBI had last given approval for amortisation in 1993.

ICAI has commented that RBI has to approve amortisation to banks. It suggested that RBI should prescribe an accounting treatment, only then ICAI can then give instructions to auditors.

Chartered Accountants Discuss New Ideas in the Field of Social Audit

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India(ICAI), functioning under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, organized here today a seminar on Social Audit. A plethora of new ideas in this emerging field were discussed by the Chartered Accountant fraternity. Inaugurating the Seminar Shri Amarjit Chopra, President, ICAI, said that Social Audit is need of the hour and government is looking up to Chartered Accountants to play a vital role in this area. In periods to come, social audit would act as a whistle blower, a role that would be played by the chartered accountants, he said.

Social Audit is an overall value based exercise, which can be conducted right from the grass root level to the level of the Board. A presentation on Genesis and Evolution of Social Audit and a brief on Process and Methodology of Social Audit was also presented during the seminar. A session on Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Audit was taken by experts in this area. Emphasizing on triple bottom line reporting, the experts came up with the idea that corporates should prepare social accounts and use excerpts in the corporate social accountability report.