Government to standardise bank accounting

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the unusual steep fall in SBI's profit for the March quarter after a change of guard at the helm, the finance ministry has said it is in the process of putting in place a mechanism to ensure continuity in accounting practices in banks.

The finance ministry is addressing the issue and is planning to lay certain guidelines, Department of Financial Services Secretary D K Mittal said, adding that "the change of top management should not lead to rewriting of books and there has to be some continuity".

"There is a need to have more scrutiny by somebody," he said, adding that the change in guard should not lead to a significant change in the bank's balance sheet.

After Pratip Chaudhuri succeeded O P Bhatt at the country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), its profit plunged 99% for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. Its profit was just 20.88 crore, against 1,866.60 crore for January-March quarter of 2010.

"If accounts are prepared wrongly then auditor is held responsible apart from officers. There has to be some accountability. It's not that you rewrite the accounts and you are scot free...same Chartered Accountant is re-appointed and officers rewrite," he added.

Earlier the Reserve Bank Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty had also said that there was a need for banks to improve the standards of financial reporting.

"See our banks, I see when the chairman retires the profits go down," Chakrabarty had said.

There is a need to improve both the standard of reporting as well as that of examination of account books, Chakrabarty had said.