New Delhi [India], October 14 (ANI): The Ministry of Cooperation has mandated a new audit reporting framework for multi-state cooperative societies to help identify financial stress, detect irregularities and strengthen oversight of their operations, according to an official statement issued by the ministry.

The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2026 (MSCARO, 2026) introduces a uniform reporting system under which auditors will examine key financial, administrative, governance and statutory compliance parameters.

The framework aims to help regulators identify financial problems at an early stage and take corrective action before they develop into more serious concerns.

Under the new rules, auditors will systematically report on non-performing assets (NPAs), overdue loans, liquidity positions, deposits, advances, repayment defaults and borrowings. These details are expected to help identify financial weaknesses and improve monitoring of cooperative societies.

The Ministry said, "New framework to facilitate early detection of financial stress, safeguard members' funds and strengthen compliance with statutory and governance requirements"

The new framework also introduces risk-based regulatory supervision, allowing the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) to identify societies facing higher financial or governance risks based on audit observations. This could help regulators conduct more focused inspections, inquiries and other interventions.

The ministry has also proposed integrating standardised audit information with the CRCS Portal to support technology-driven monitoring.

The system could facilitate automated scrutiny, regulatory dashboards, risk scoring and artificial intelligence-based analytics to identify compliance gaps and support regulatory action.

The audit requirements will also cover the verification of investments, use of funds, share capital, membership records and relevant statutory approvals.

Auditors will examine the composition of boards of directors, eligibility and disqualification of directors, annual general meetings, board meetings, statutory committees and related-party transactions.

The framework also provides for audit-level verification of cybersecurity safeguards and anti-money laundering compliance, wherever applicable. This includes checks relating to suspicious transactions, customer identification and compliance requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ministry said the framework was formulated under Section 73(6) of the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, following the 2023 amendment, which empowered the Central Government to prescribe auditing and accounting standards for such societies.

The order has been developed based on inputs from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and multi-state cooperative societies. It is modelled on the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order applicable to the corporate sector.

The ministry has mandated phased implementation to give cooperative societies time to strengthen their internal systems and processes. The initial phase will cover larger societies crossing the Rs 1,000 crore threshold, while the long-term objective is to extend the framework to societies crossing the prescribed threshold of Rs 50 crore in relevant financial parameters.

The ministry said the new framework would combine standardised audit reporting with risk-based supervision and technology-driven monitoring to strengthen institutional credibility and protect members' financial interests. (ANI)