Integrated Financial Compliance and Audit Management: A Study of Accounting, GST, Income Tax, TDS, and Internal Audit Practices in a CA Firm
Year: 2026
Type: other
Abstract: India's complex compliance framework — encompassing Goods and Services Tax (GST), Income Tax, Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), internal audit requirements, and financial accounting obligations — places a heavy burden on the country's 63 million+ registered businesses, particularly MSMEs that lack in-house compliance expertise. Professional Chartered Accountancy (CA) firms serve as the indispensable institutional bridge, providing the technical expertise and professional judgment that enables businesses to fulfil regulatory obligations confidently. This paper presents findings from a seven-month internship-based empirical study (January–July 2025) at G. Paras & Associates (Chartered Accountants), a professional CA firm situated on Kichha Road, Sitarganj, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand. The study examines four core CA practice domains: (1) GST Compliance and Return Filing, (2) Income Tax Return Filing Procedures, (3) Internal Audit and Internal Control System, and (4) Accounting, TDS Deduction, and Return Filing — through direct participation in live client assignments across a portfolio of 100+ clients spanning manufacturing, trading, transport, and individual taxpayer categories. Key findings reveal that ITC (Input Tax Credit) reconciliation arising from vendor non-filing is the most persistent GST compliance challenge, with mismatch rates of 10–15% in manufacturing client portfolios; internal audit consistently identifies critical control weaknesses — chiefly inadequate segregation of duties in 82% of SME clients — with physical inventory verification revealing 2–8% discrepancy rates; Section 194C TDS on informal contractor payments is the most frequently missed compliance obligation; and the Finance Act 2025's New Regime enhancement effectively makes INR 12 lakh income tax-free, fundamentally altering the regime selection calculus for the majority of salaried clients. The paper proposes actionable recommendations for CA firm practitioners, SME management, and policymakers, and identifies four critical cross-domain interdependencies that are invisible when compliance domains are studied in isolation. Keywords: GST Compliance, ITC Reconciliation, GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, Income Tax Return Filing, Section 115BAC, Internal Audit, COSO Framework, Internal Control System, TDS Compliance, Accounting, Tally Prime, CA Firms, MSME, Sitarganj, Uttarakhand.
Authors: Balraj, Singh, Mr. Jaskaran, Singh
Institution: Surajmal University
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7167347674