Foreign audit firms not to probe PwC: Satyam director
By IANSWednesday, January 14, 2009
CHENNAI - The audit firms appointed to restate the account books of scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services will not investigate the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in the Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000-crore/$1.43-billion) revenue fraud at the IT bellwether, a board member said Thursday.
‘The job of the two foreign audit firms - KPMG and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu - is to restate the books of accounts and not to carry out an investigation into the affairs of Satyam Computer or its statutory auditors,’ T.N. Manoharan, the newly-appointed board member of Satyam Computer Services, told IANS.
‘Investigation is being done by various governmental bodies,’ he added.
Son of T.L. Narayana Chowdhry, a 92-year-old a freedom fighter, Manoharan, 51, is a partner in Manoharan Chowdhry Associates, a city-based auditing firm.
Also a qualified lawyer, Manoharan is a past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
While his auditing background will be of great help in coming to grips with Satyam’s financial numbers, he said he will work towards bringing the beleaguered company back on track.
‘I can contribute in bringing financial stability for the company. I will work towards achieving the mandate given by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs,’ Manoharan said.
‘We will strive to restore the confidence of Satyam investors, customers and employees while ensuring the financial stability of the company.’
The government Thursday appointed three more nominees to the board of Satyam Computer, including Manoharan. The other two members are Tarun Das, chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Suryakant Balakrishnan, a nominee of the Life Insurance Corp of India.
The government had earlier nominated three members to Satyam’s board.
They are Deepak Parekh, chairman of Housing Development Finance Corp, Kiran Karnik, former president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, and C. Achuthan, former member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
