New Delhi, Feb. 12: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has decided to audit the accounts of five telecom firms — Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Vodafone and state-run BSNL for 2009-10. A senior Trai official said its deputy adviser Manoj Mishra had been appointed as the nodal officer for the audit.

“The audit is aimed at giving an assurance to the government on the revenue share from the licencees. In the current year, I propose to take up the audit of the accounts of Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Tata and Vodafone along with BSNL,” said R.P. Singh, director-general of audit (Post and Telegraph), in a letter to telecom secretary P.J. Thomas.

According to a department of telecom (DoT) notification in 2002, operators must give all statements, including financial ones, to Trai to calculate the licence fee to be paid to the government.

The regulator will act as a facilitator when the apex audit body, CAG, decides to check the accounts of the telecom firms.