Karnataka to Outsource Cooperative Audit, Says Minister Savadi

Karnataka is preparing to open up the audit of cooperative societies to private professionals, Cooperation Minister Laxman Savadi said in Athani on Tuesday.

Speaking about the scale of the task, Mr. Savadi noted that the state has thousands of cooperative societies, each of which must be audited annually. The Cooperative Audit Department, he said, does not have enough staff to handle this workload.

Under the plan, commerce and management graduates will be trained in cooperative audit and issued licences to conduct audits. The Minister said this would both create employment for graduates and reduce delays in completing audits.

Mr. Savadi drew a parallel with the Revenue Department, which licenses private surveyors to carry out land surveys. He said he wants the Cooperation Ministry to follow a similar model.

The move would extend a process of liberalisation he said he began a few years ago, when rules that restricted audits to government auditors were relaxed to allow private chartered accountants and licensed auditors to take up the work.

He also pointed to current practice, where chartered accountants often have juniors complete audits before signing off on the documents, and said the government wants to put in place a parallel arrangement.

According to the Minister, training centres will be set up at eight locations. These centres will be funded from the education fund contributed out of societies' profits, which he estimated at around ₹90 crore. Training would be free for poor candidates, while others would pay a nominal fee.