Ashwani Bhatia, a full-time member of Sebi, on Friday, urged chartered accountants to exercise greater caution when assessing businesses listed on the SME exchange platforms, news agency PTI reported.
Speaking at a CAs industry gathering, Bhatia stressed the need to examine listed SMEs (small and medium-sized firms) more closely because these businesses will eventually expand to join the main board.
"There have been several difficulties there (SME platform). Since these small businesses will only get bigger in the future, we ask that you exercise particular caution when it comes to SME IPOs and fundraising," stated the former banker who is now a capital markets regulator.
Bhatia expressed happiness with the SME platform's development, noting that these firms have raised Rs 14,000 crore, of which Rs 6,000 crore was raised in FY24 alone. He likened the CAs to "doctors" and stated that by ensuring that businesses operate in an orderly manner, they serve as first-level regulators.
According to Bhatia, if the CAs had completed their work more carefully, many of the Sebi investigations and orders—which take more than a year to complete—might not have been required at all.
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