X & Co. Practicing Company Secretary, was appointed as Secretarial Auditor of a Company. During the audit certain irregularities were found. However, before the finalisation of the Report, the Company Secretary of th

The stages involved for communication and discussion to finalise the Secretarial Audit report are as under: Submission of the Preliminary Draft: At the conclusion of fieldwork, the auditor should draft the report and present it to the entity's management for auditee's comments. Exit Meeting: The auditor should discuss with the management the findings, observations, recommendations, and text of draft and obtain their comment on the draft, achieve consensus and reach an agreement on the audit findings. Formal Draft: The auditor should prepare a formal draft, in view of the outcome of the exit meeting and other discussions. Upon review of such changes by the auditor and the management, the final report shall be issued. Final Report: The report shall be submitted to the appointing authority or such members of management, as directed.