Satyam board in talks with banks, financial institutions

HYDERABAD - The government-appointed board of directors of the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Saturday said it was engaged in discussions with banks and financial institutions to address the issue of liquidity and assured that it would take all steps to pay salaries of the employees on time.

The board, which met here for the second time in six days, left the appointment of the board chairman to the government and said the search for a chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) was still on.

The board constituted a three-member audit committee headed by T.N. Manoharan. The other members will be C. Achuthan and S.B. Mainak.

The board has also appointed Brahmayya & Co., Chennai-based chartered accountants, as internal auditors of the company, with immediate effect.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. have been appointed as legal advisers to the board, said a statement issued by the company.

‘Addressing the issue of liquidity, the board confirmed that it is engaged in discussions with banks and financial institutions. The last week had seen definite improvements on collections and this is expected to be a major priority for the business leaders and the board, in the ensuing weeks,’ it said.

‘All efforts are being made to ensure that the associates (employees) are paid their salaries on time. Scheduling of vendor payments was also discussed.’

This was the first meeting of the board following the corporate affairs ministry’s decision to nominate an additional three new members.

The board meet, chaired by Deepak Parekh, had extended deliberations on matters relating to enhancing liquidity, leadership issues and customer concerns.

‘Till such time a chairman is appointed by the central government (in line with the directions of the Company Law Board), it was decided that one of the members of the board will chair the meeting, by rotation.’

The board confirmed that the search for the CEO and CFO continues and that till such time these appointments are concluded, the board will continue to meet on a weekly basis, to address ongoing issues.

All the six board members attended the meeting. They are Deepak Parekh, HDFC chairman, Kiran Karnik, former president of the software sector’s umbrella body Nasscom, C. Achuthan, former SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) member, Tarun Das, chief mentor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), T.N. Manoharan, a noted chartered accountant, and Suryakant Balakrishnan, a nominee of the LIC of India.

Parekh, Karnik and Achuthan were appointed Jan 11 and the rest Thursday.