AMFI will shortlist four out of the eleven for carrying out due diligence on big distributors.
Eleven audit firms have shown interest in carrying out due diligence on 220 big distributors. AMFI will be short listing four companies out of eleven, said an industry expert aware of the development.
Among the eleven firms are KPMG, PWC, Deloitte, M. P. Chitale & Co. AMFI is waiting to receive the terms and conditions and charges from audit firms to make the final list.
According to industry experts, AMFI will start the due diligence audit by March as the regulator wants to see the implementation of the regulation before the end of the current financial year. After appointing the audit firms, the distributors will be segregated and allocated to the four auditors.
The industry hopes that the process would be smooth after the agencies are finalized. “An external auditor carrying out the due diligence will make our work easy and the process will be carried out more diligently,” said Ajit Menon, EVP - Head of Sales & Marketing, DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund.
The industry is also witnessing support from distributors as all of them are ready to co-operate with the auditors to carry out the process smoothly. “The distributors are aware that it is a regulation that they have to follow. They are ready to welcome the auditors and help them to complete their responsibility smoothly,” said Srinivas Jain, CMO, SBI MF.
Also read: No. of distributors qualifying for due diligence comes down
