CA K. Raghu

Senior Partner of K. Raghu & Co. and Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (2014–15). A Chartered Accountant since 1990, with more than three decades in audit, assurance and consulting, and in the leadership of the profession in India and abroad.

CA K. Raghu, Senior Partner, K. Raghu & Co.
Personal credentials

Born and brought up in Bangalore, K. Raghu graduated from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore University. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990 and was elected President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for 2014–15.

The ICAI is the statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 to regulate the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India, and the second-largest accounting body in the world.

Qualified1990
ICAI President2014–15
Central Council3 terms from 2007
In practice35+ years

02Positions held currently

Current · since 2025

Member, Appellate Authority

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Appointed under Section 22A of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.

Today
2025Term 2025–282028
Current · since 2025

Independent Director

Axis Securities · a subsidiary of Axis Bank

Independent Director on the Board of Axis Securities for the 2025–29 term.

Today
2025Term 2025–292029

03Boards and banking governance

Indian Overseas Bank · 2016–19

Steering a public sector bank's turnaround.

  1. High NPAsStressed asset book
  2. RecoveryAudit and governance focus
  3. ProfitabilityReturn to profit

Nominated by the Ministry of Finance as an Independent Director, and Chairman of the Audit Committee. He was instrumental in the turnaround team that navigated the bank from a period of high NPAs to profitability, overseeing financial reporting and governance through its critical recovery phase.

  • Independent Director2016–19
  • Chairman, Audit Committee2016–19
International Federation of Accountants · New York

On the global board of the accountancy profession.

175members and associates
130countries and jurisdictions
2.5M+accountants represented

IFAC, founded in 1977, is the global organisation for the accountancy profession, spanning public practice, industry and commerce, government and academia.

  • Board Member2015–18
  • Member, Audit Committee2015

04Bank audit experience

Thirty-five years of central statutory audits, bank branch audits, concurrent audits and stock audits across public and private sector banks, including:

State Bank of IndiaCanara BankUnion Bank of IndiaSyndicate BankCorporation BankCentral Bank of IndiaIDBI BankFederal BankBank of MaharashtraING Vysya Bank, BengaluruThe Lakshmi Vilas Bank, KarurVisvesvaraya Grameena Bank, Mandya

Experience relevant to a non-executive director

  • Member of the Reserve Bank of India's Regional Monitoring Committee for NBFCs in Karnataka for eight years.
  • Involved in developing the XBRL taxonomy for corporates and for banks in India through XBRL India.
  • Worked extensively with senior officials of the Reserve Bank of India on strengthening the audit mechanism for monitoring NPAs.
  • Involved in formulating the new Long Form Audit Report for public and private sector banks.
  • Speaker and chairman of technical sessions on banking at seminars organised by the RBI and the ICAI.
  • Studied core banking solutions through the ICAI and Infosys Technologies programme on Finacle.
  • Assisted in setting up a leasing and housing finance subsidiary for The Vysya Bank Limited.
  • Assisted in implementing KYC norms for demat accounts at The Vysya Bank Limited.
  • Author of many articles on bank branch audit published in professional journals.
  • Speaker on bank branch audit at ICAI branches across India, to Chartered Accountants and CA students.

05Leading the profession

From the students' association to President of the ICAI.

Twenty-five years of service to the profession, from chairing the Southern India students' association in 1991 to leading the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2014–15.

  1. 1990

    Qualified as a Chartered Accountant

    After graduating from St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore University.

  2. 1991–92

    Chairman, Southern India Chartered Accountants Students Association

  3. 1996–97

    Chairman, Bangalore Branch of SIRC of ICAI

    The branch was adjudged the Most Active Branch of the Region that year.

  4. 1997–98

    Chairman, Economic Affairs Committee, FKCCI

    Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bengaluru.

  5. 2003–04

    Chairman, Southern India Regional Council of ICAI

  6. 2007

    Elected to the Central Council of ICAI

    Served three consecutive terms; Member of the Executive Committee in 2007–08.

  7. 2008–09

    Chairman, Continuing Professional Education Committee

  8. 2009–10

    Chairman, IT Committee and Peer Review Board

  9. 2010–11

    Member, Disciplinary Committee

  10. 2011–12

    Chairman, Committee for Members in Industry

  11. 2012–13

    Chairman, Ethical Standards Board

    Also Vice Chairman of the Financial Reporting Review Board.

  12. 2013–14

    Vice President, ICAI

    Elected by the Central Council on 12 February 2013. Vice Chairman of the Executive, Examination and Finance Committees; Joint Editor of the journal The Chartered Accountant; Vice Chairman of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation and of the ICAI-ICWAI-ICSI Coordination Committee; Member of the Managing Committee of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

  13. 2014–15

    President, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

    Elected by the 22nd Central Council on 12 February 2014.

06As President of the ICAI, 2014–15

International

  • Technical Advisor on the Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), New York
  • Member of the Board of the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA)
  • Chairman of the Committee on Education, Training and CPD of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)
  • Technical Advisor on the Board of SAFA, and Member of the SAFA Assembly
  • Technical Advisor to IFAC's Professional Accountancy Organisation Development Committee (PAODC)
  • Member of the Membership Development Committee of XBRL International
  • Mentor, New York Chapter of the ICAI

Within the ICAI

  • Chaired all three standing committees of the ICAI: Executive, Finance and Examination
  • Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and the Board of Discipline
  • Editor-in-Chief of the journal The Chartered Accountant
  • Chairman and Director of the ICAI Accounting Research Foundation
  • Chairman of the Chartered Accountants' Benevolent Fund, the Students' Benevolent Fund and the Vaidyanathan Aiyer Memorial Fund
  • Chairman of the Committee for Review of Education and Training

National

  • Member of the Board of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), and of its Insurance Advisory Committee
  • Member of the National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards (NACAS), Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • Member of the Quality Review Board, the independent audit regulator for public interest entities
  • Member of the Audit Advisory Board of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India, and of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB)
  • Member of the Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds of the Securities and Exchange Board of India
  • Member of RBI working groups on IFRS convergence for banks and NBFCs, and on norms for empanelling statutory auditors of public sector banks
  • Member of the high-level steering committee for XBRL-based data submission by banks; Chairman of XBRL India
  • Member of the Central Direct Taxes Advisory Committee (CDTAC) of the CBDT and of the Regional Direct Taxes Advisory Committee
  • Member of Ministry of Corporate Affairs working groups and task forces on corporate governance, CSR, the 12th Five Year Plan budget, the MCA21 stakeholders committee and the India-UK Task Force on Corporate Affairs
  • Member of the Technical Committee on Budget and Accounting Standards for Urban Local Bodies, Ministry of Urban Development
  • Member of the Department of Public Enterprises task force on MOU documents
  • Member of the Governing Body of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, and of the Governing Council of the National Foundation for Corporate Governance
  • Member of the Finance Committee of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
  • Member of the Quality Review Board under the Actuaries Act, 2006, and of the Regional Monitoring Committee for NBFCs in Karnataka
Member of all 35 non-standing committees and boards of the ICAI
Accounting Standards BoardAuditing and Assurance Standards BoardEthical Standards BoardPeer Review BoardFinancial Reporting Review BoardInternal Audit Standards BoardBoard of StudiesCorporate Laws & Corporate GovernanceDirect TaxesIndirect TaxesAudit CommitteeInd AS (IFRS) ImplementationInternational AffairsProfessional DevelopmentResearchHR TransformationTechnology DevelopmentPublic RelationsExpert AdvisoryStrategy and Perspective PlanningWomen Members EmpowermentYoung Members EmpowermentContinuing Professional EducationPublic Finance and Government AccountingInternational TaxationManagement AccountingEntrepreneurship and Public ServicesMembers in IndustryAccounting Standards for Local BodiesBanking, Insurance and PensionCapacity Building for Small and Medium PractitionersInformation TechnologyCo-operatives and NPO SectorsEconomic, Commercial Laws and WTOFinancial Markets and Investors' Protection

07Qualifications and memberships

Fellow Member, ICAI

Qualified in 1990.

Honorary Member, CPA Australia

Certified Practising Accountants of Australia.

Honorary Member, Chartered Accountants ANZ

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand.

Senior Partner, K. Raghu & Co.

Specialising in taxation, audit, business, investment and technology consulting.

08Beyond the profession

President, Rotary Club of Bangalore Peenya (2002–03)

Awarded the Best President Award by RI District 3190 for conducting the 6th Mega Jaipur Foot Camp, where more than 2,350 patients received artificial feet, calipers, crutches and wheelchairs free of cost.

Paul Harris Fellow

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

K. Raghu & Co. · Bengaluru

Speak with CA K. Raghu.

#281, K. R Pinnacle, II Floor, 7th Main, BTM II Stage, Bangalore 560 076

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