You can now have a member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India carry out your annual compliance audit, alongside Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries.
On March 25, 2026, SEBI replaced paragraph 31 of Chapter VI of the Master Circular for Research Analysts dated February 6, 2026. The change applies from March 25, 2026, the date the circular was issued.
Until now, paragraph 31 allowed only a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or the Institute of Company Secretaries of India to conduct your annual audit of compliance with the RA Regulations and the circulars issued under them. The new paragraph adds members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India to that list.
SEBI made the change after a representation from the Institute of Cost Accountants of India. It also refers to the recognition of Cost Accountants to conduct annual audit of RAs under Regulation 25(3) of the RA Regulations. It calls the change a clarification of their eligibility.
In practice, you can now appoint a member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India as your compliance auditor. You can also keep a Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary if you already use one. The circular does not require you to change auditors.
The rest of paragraph 31 is restated in the new text. You must complete the audit within six months from the end of each financial year. You must submit the compliance audit report to RAASB or SEBI within one month from the date of the audit report, and no later than October 31st of each year for the previous financial year.
You must publish the status of the compliance audit report on your website. If the audit has adverse findings, you must publish them on your website along with the action you took. You must also give the compliance audit report to your clients.
The circular does not say how it applies to an audit that was already in progress on March 25, 2026. It also does not set any different format or scope for audits done by Cost Accountants.
This change is in force. It took effect on March 25, 2026.
“The provisions of this circular shall be applicable from the date of issue of this circular.”
Clarification regarding eligibility of members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India to conduct annual audit of Research Analysts, paragraph 5
The document
Clarification regarding eligibility of members of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India to conduct annual audit of Research Analysts on sebi.gov.in.
This summary is prepared from the SEBI document linked above. Read the original before you act on it.