The nationalised banks here have been facing difficulties to submit statutory reportS for the FY (2020-21) as many chartered accountants, authrorised for bank audit, were found Covid positive.
On Tuesday, Kalahandi’s first CA, Sitaram Agrawal (67), a resident of Bhawanipatna, passed away in a Bhubaneswar based private hospital during Covid treatment.
He was entrusted for bank audit in Cuttack branch. He had an experience of 35 years. He was cremated by the BMC in presence of his only son. Fear engulfed among other CAs and their staffs after his demise.
A CA staffer said his family members were refusing him to join the audit.
As per guidelines, the CAs need to submit the audit report online in the branch itself through their digital signature. Earlier, the audit report was being submitted manually.
Avinash Panjwani, CA inter passout, of Bhawanipatna, said out of seven CAs four are in home isolation in the town. "One of my CA friends died in Pune after he was found Covid positive," said Avinash.
In some cases, due to fear, the CAs delayed to enter in the branch when they heard Covid positive reports of bank staffs. A branch manager said a CA returned home when he got the information of Covid positive.
Another branch manager requesting anonymity said due to Covid-19, submission of audit report was delayed.
"Despite pressure from the regional office to submit the report earlier, we are unable to do it," the branch manager said.
Offer for bank audit is received by the statutory auditor on the first week of April every year. And it is advised to complete the audit within two weeks. But the delay in submission of the report has bothered all.