The  Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI) recently issued a guidance note which will help  India Inc in accounting for its  corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenses...To ensure transparent financial reporting, this guidance note requires the company to debit (charge) its profit and loss account (P&L a/c) with the CSR expenses incurred by it during the year. Further, such expenses are to be shown as a separate line item in the P&L a/c...According to government sources, the financial statements of a company, including notes to the accounts and the director's reports, will help keep track of the CSR spending by India Inc. Currently, there is no penalty imposed for not complying with these norms — only a disclosure is required in the director's report.