Specified Number explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Guidelines on Ethical Issues, 2026 cap the specified number of company audit assignments at 40 per member or per partner, excluding one person and dormant companies.
From the ICAI Guidance Note on Tax Audit (Revised 2026), Appendix VII, cited at paragraphs 9.8, 9.17, 9.19 and 9.29. A footnote to the appendix states that the "Guidelines on Ethical Issues, 2026" replace the "Council General Guidelines, 2008 " with effect from 1 April 2026.
The contents list at the front of the Guidance Note describes Appendix VII as "Council Guidelines No.1-CA(7)/02/2008, dated 8th August, 2008". The appendix as printed is in fact the Guidelines on Ethical Issues, 2026, which supersede those guidelines from 1 April 2026. The contents entry is stale; the appendix text is the one to follow. This is the same class of slip as the contents entry for Appendix XI, which still names the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006 where the appendix sets out the 2021 Rules.
Scope and authority
The Guidelines are issued under section 15(2)(fa) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, by the Council, under the Act as amended by The Chartered Accountants, The Cost and Works Accountants and The Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2022. They apply to all the Members of the Institute whether in practice or not, wherever the context so requires.
Chapter II states the baseline for an employed member: "A member of the Institute who is an employee shall exercise due diligence and shall not be grossly negligent in the conduct of his duties."
Chapter III requires a member in practice, or the firm of which he is a partner, to maintain proper books of account in electronic or physical form, the minimum being a Cash Book, a Ledger and a Bill Register.
Chapter V — the specified number
Clause 5.0: "A member of the Institute in practice shall not hold at any time appointment of more than the 'specified number of audit assignments' of Companies under Section 141 of the Companies Act 2013." Three provisos follow:
- for a firm, the specified number is construed for every partner of the firm;
- where a partner is also a partner of another firm or firms, the assignments taken for all the firms together in relation to such partner shall not exceed the specified number in the aggregate; and
- where a partner accepts company audits in his individual capacity or in the name of his proprietary firm, the total accepted by all firms in relation to him and by him shall not exceed the specified number in the aggregate.
The number itself
| Capacity | Specified number |
|---|---|
| Chartered Accountant in practice, or a proprietary firm | 40 audit assignments, whether of private companies or other companies, with the exception of one person companies and dormant companies |
| Chartered Accountants in practice — a firm | 40 audit assignments per partner, on the same exceptions |
All three provisos exist to stop the same individual counting twice. A partner in three firms who also audits in his own name has one aggregate ceiling across all of them. That is why the specified number is a personal limit administered through firms, and why the record at clause 5.5 has to capture the firm on whose behalf each assignment was accepted.
How assignments are counted
Clause 5.2, in computing the specified number:
- audits accepted singly or in combination with any other chartered accountant in practice or firm are taken into account;
- audit of the head office and branch offices of a company by one chartered accountant or firm shall be regarded as one audit assignment;
- audit of one or more branches of the same company by one member in practice, or by a firm in which he is a partner, shall be construed as one audit assignment only; and
- the number of partners of a firm on the date of acceptance of the assignment is taken into account.
Two categories of partner are left out of the firm's capacity altogether:
- clause 5.3 — a chartered accountant in practice whether in full-time or part-time employment elsewhere shall not be counted for determining the specified number of company audits by firms; and
- clause 5.4 — a chartered accountant who is a part-time practising partner of a firm shall not be taken into account for reckoning the firm's audit assignments.
Clause 5.5 requires a member and a firm to maintain a record of the audit assignments accepted — by him, by the firm, or by any partner in his individual name or as a partner of another firm — as far as possible in a format of name of the company, registration number, date of appointment and date of acceptance.
The tax audit record — Appendix VIII
Cited at paragraph 9.32, Appendix VIII prescribes the Form of tax audit particulars to be furnished by members or firms — a Record of Tax Audit Assignments capturing:
- Name of the member accepting the assignment;
- Membership number;
- Financial year of audit acceptance;
- Name and registration number of the firm or firms of which the member is a proprietor or partner;
and then, assignment by assignment: name of the auditee, assessment year of the auditee, date of appointment, date of acceptance, the name of the firm on whose behalf the member has accepted the assignment, and the date of communication with the previous auditor where applicable.
The two records are parallel — clause 5.5 for company audits against the specified number, and Appendix VIII for tax audit assignments against the tax audit ceiling. The final column of the Appendix VIII form ties the record to the mandatory communication requirement.
Chapter VI — the fee restriction on certain statutory audits
A member in practice shall not accept appointment as statutory auditor of a Public Sector Undertaking, Government Company, Listed Company or other Public Company having turnover of Rs 250 crores or more in a year where he accepts any other work, assignment or service for the same undertaking on a remuneration which in total exceeds the fee payable for carrying out the statutory audit. Where the appointing authority or regulatory body specifies more stringent conditions, those apply instead.
| Point | Provision |
|---|---|
| Whose fees count | Fees payable to the statutory auditors and their associate concerns put together |
| What "other work" includes | Management Consultancy and all other professional services permitted under section 2(2)(iv) of the Act |
| What it excludes | Audit under any other statute; certification work required to be done by the statutory auditors; and any representation before an authority |
| Associate concern | Any body corporate or partnership firm rendering such services in which the proprietor, partners or their relatives are directors or partners, or hold a substantial interest — both terms having the meaning in Appendix (9) to the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 |
A tax audit is an audit under another statute, and so falls within the exclusion — the fee for it does not count towards the ceiling on other work.
Audit checklist
- Count company audits against the specified number of 40 per member or per partner.
- Exclude one person companies and dormant companies.
- Aggregate a partner's assignments across every firm and his own name.
- Count a head office with its branches as one assignment.
- Exclude employed and part-time practising partners from the firm's capacity.
- Take the partner count on the date of acceptance.
- Maintain the clause 5.5 record of company audits and the Appendix VIII record of tax audits.
- Record the date of communication with the previous auditor in the tax audit record.
- For a large public company statutory audit, test the other-work fee ceiling including associate concerns.
Common mistakes
- Counting the ceiling firm-wise instead of per partner and per person.
- Including one person or dormant companies in the count.
- Counting each branch audit as a separate assignment.
- Including an employed or part-time partner in the firm's capacity.
- Keeping no record of assignments accepted, in either format.