Unable to check the authenticity of claims made by companies due to the Covid pandemic, auditors have started asking for letters from the management assuring the numbers are correct.
In the last few months, statutory auditors, who are required to approve or raise objections to the financial numbers prepared by companies, are stranded by the pandemic and lockdown in some areas.
Auditors are raising questions around the authenticity of sales, Inventory, and debtors In the financials of several companies, say insiders. Auditors have to base their opinions on the data provided by the companies, and they are relying on the management’s representation or letters that ascertain the authenticity of the figures.