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How audit panels work
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Every March, some small CA firms are busy with bank branch audits, government company audits and co-operative bank work, while other firms of the same size get nothing. The difference is rarely luck. The firms that get panel work plan for it a year ahead, keep their ICAI records clean, and file their applications without mistakes.
This course is about that planning. It does not teach how to audit a bank branch or how to do a concurrent audit. It teaches how to get onto audit panels, how to move up them, how to accept work safely, and how to run the season so the work actually pays.
Please read this first
This is an administrative readiness course. Nothing in it is a promise that your firm is eligible, or that you will be empanelled or allotted any audit. Each panel decides on its own current rules, and those rules change. Every lesson tells you where to check the current version.
The main panels, in one table
| Panel or route | Who runs it | What it can lead to |
|---|---|---|
| Multipurpose Empanelment Form (MEF) | ICAI's Professional Development Committee, at meficai.org | ICAI shares MEF data with RBI, NABARD, the Central Registrar of Co-operative Societies (CRCS) and other authorities. It feeds the bank branch auditors' panel for public sector banks and the panel for State and Central Co-operative Banks. |
| C&AG empanelment | Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, at care.cag.gov.in | Appointment as auditors of government companies under the Companies Act, 2013, using a point score. |
| Regulated entity audits | The bank, co-operative bank or NBFC itself, under RBI directions | Statutory audits of commercial banks, urban co-operative banks and NBFCs, where the firm meets RBI's eligibility for that size of entity. |
| Bank assignments | Each bank, through its own notice or empanelment | Concurrent, revenue, stock and other audits that banks appoint for themselves. |
| State panels | State departments, for example the Registrar of Co-operative Societies | Audits of co-operative societies and some local bodies. Rules differ from state to state. |
Why the work starts a year early
Panels look at your firm on a fixed date, not on the day you apply. For the 2026-27 MEF, the cut-off date for the constitution of the firm was 1 July 2026. For the C&AG panel for 2026-27, firms had to show their status as on 1 January 2026. So if a record is wrong in ICAI's Self-Service Portal (SSP) on that date, or a change was not filed in time, filing the form carefully later will not fix it.
That is why this course starts with a calendar and a profile, not with the form.
Two firms, same size
Mehta & Iyer and Joshi Associates are both three-partner firms in Nagpur. Joshi Associates filed its MEF on the last evening, found that a partner's FCA status and the firm's branch address in SSP were out of date, and could only mention the change in a grey field "for information". Mehta & Iyer had checked SSP in May, fixed the records, kept a profile sheet, and had all three partners ready to validate the declaration. Same size, very different year.
A 10-question readiness check
Answer yes or no. Each "no" is a lesson in this course.
- Do we know which panels we want, and why?
- Do we have a calendar with each panel's cut-off date and window, checked against the current notice?
- Does ICAI's SSP show our partners, CA employees, offices and qualifications correctly today?
- Has every partner change been filed with ICAI (Form 18) on time?
- Do we have a one-page profile of what panels count, with today's numbers?
- Does one named person prepare the applications, and a second person check them?
- Do all partners (or the proprietor) know they must validate the MEF declaration?
- Do we check independence and audit limits before accepting any allotment?
- Do we have a staffing plan for the audit season before the letters arrive?
- Do we track bills and travel claims for panel work until paid?
What this course covers
- Know the panels: the MEF and the bank branch panel, C&AG empanelment, and the other routes.
- Build the profile: what panels count, keeping ICAI records right, and a year-ahead plan.
- Allotment and acceptance: filing without mistakes, the checks before you say yes, and tenders and fees within ICAI rules.
- Run the season: staffing, bills and travel claims, and the yearly review.
What it does not cover
- How to perform any audit, or what to report in a long form audit report.
- Peer review preparation. Peer review now matters for panels (see the box below). How to prepare is in the course Peer Review Ready.
- The general firm calendar, review system and working papers: see Running the Firm: Systems & Quality.
- Hiring and leading staff and articled assistants: see Leading Your Team.
Within the rules
ICAI's Peer Review Board has announced that from 31.12.2026, practice units which propose to undertake audits of branches of public sector banks need a peer review certificate. The same phase covers practice units rendering attestation services with three or more partners, before accepting any statutory audit. Check the Peer Review Board's current announcements, and use the course Peer Review Ready to prepare.
Who does what in this course (a suggested office split)
- Partner (or proprietor): decides which panels to aim for, approves every application, validates declarations, accepts or declines allotments, signs.
- Senior or office manager: keeps the calendar, the profile sheet and the records; prepares applications; tracks bills.
- Staff and articled assistants: collect documents and report gaps. They never promise work to a bank, never sign, and never validate anything on a partner's behalf.
Do this today
- Answer the 10 readiness questions with your partners. Count the "no" answers.
- Write down the two or three panels your firm wants to be on, and one reason for each.
- Name the person in the office who will own panel records and the panel calendar.
Sources (checked 19 Oct 2026)
- ICAI, Hosting of Multipurpose Empanelment Form (MEF) 2026-27 (7 Aug 2026): MEF data shared with RBI, NABARD, CRCS and other authorities: icai.org
- MEF 2026-27 Advisory (cut-off 1 July 2026): meficai.org/advisory
- Office of the C&AG, Empanelment of CA firms/LLPs for 2026-27 (status as on 1 January 2026): care.cag.gov.in (PDF)
- ICAI Peer Review Board, Deferment of Phase IV of Peer Review Mandate (31 Dec 2025): resource.cdn.icai.org (PDF)
- ICAI Empanelment announcements: icai.org/category/empanelment
Get on the panels you want: unlock the other 12 lessons
The MEF and bank branch panel, C&AG empanelment, other panels, what panels count, keeping records right, a year-ahead plan, filing without mistakes, allotment and acceptance, tenders and fees, staffing the season and getting paid. Rs. 999 + GST, one time · or the Office Subscription Plan from Rs. 1,499 / year for every course, for you and your staff.