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ICAI moots strong punishment for Satyam auditors
Press Trust of India / New Delhi January 7, 2009, 15:36 IST

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the apex body of Chartered Accountants, today said any member of the body found guilty in the Satyam financial wrong doings would be severely punished and the auditors could even be barred from practising, for the lifetime.

 
 
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"We will ensure that to any person who has not worked according to our standards and our expectations, severe punishment be given," ICAI President Ved Jain said after the financial wrong doings by India's fourth largest IT company were unearthed.

Also see: List of companies audited by Satyam auditors

Satyam's auditors, PriceWaterHouseCooper (PWC), declined to comment on the issue and did not entertain any query.

Following a letter from Satyam Chairman Ramalinga Raju, who accepted that he had misrepresented facts in the company's balance sheet, the role of auditors and accountants for the company has also come under scanner.

In fact, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs announced that role of directors and auditors at Satyam will be scanned by ICAI and the apex body of Company Secretaries -- ICSI.

Jain also pointed out that before the body takes any action against the members involved in the "fraud", it needs to collect all facts and information. "So we are looking into that and we will start our proceedings," he added.

On the possibility that the auditors were kept in the dark about the misrepresentation of accounts, Jain said that depended on the facts and circumstances of the case.

"As the information is tricking down to us, we need to examine what has really happened and how it has all happened," he said.

About possible action against the auditors or others party to the financial wrong doing, Jain said under the Indian Penal Code any person party to a fraud or cheating can be convicted.

"All one needs to prove is he was the party to the fraud. He can be booked under the Companies Act and the Chartered Accountants Act... In case of negligence by the chartered accountant, we have severe punishment," Jain said.

Meanwhile commenting on the issue, the apex Company Secretaries body ICSI said that at this stage the body has not come into the picture.

"If any member found guilty, we will deal with it according to the company secretaries law," ICSI President Keyoor Bakshi said.

The Company Secretaries Act has a provision for disciplinary action.

If any member, Satyam's company secretary in this case, is found guilty then the maximum ICSI can do is suspend membership, Bakshi added.

He also pointed out that the body has not yet asked for the report from the company and the report will come to them eventually.

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   Discussion Board / User Comments    
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Post your comment
Chhail
I think we all should wait for the reply which will be given by PWC against the notice issued by ICAI within 21 days............... Reply by PWC can give a different angle to this frau case...
Reply
Gopan
I strongly feel its unfair to list the name of clients...... All of us knows that many cases we forced to rely on third party evidence..... if bank officers along with mgt forged the statement???... I believes that PWC can explain the fact.... we have an apex boby to investigate the matter.... lets ICAI investigate and find the fact.
Reply
manojtiwari
its time to act very fast.icai should debar pwc hyderabad from signing any audit .thorough investigations should be on with regard to satyam.i hope every angle should be investigated.
Reply
thamiz
Mr.Raju has mentioned in his letter that it was continuing for years. so blindly giving comments about pricewater coopers is not right, we will wait till the true picture to come.
Reply
AbhiAsati
This fraud is clear nexus of Board of Directors, top official, Statuary auditors, Internal Auditor of the co. It is the responsibility of auditor to disclose the fraud in the statement of accounts. But according to me management is also liable for any type of fraud if he know the same. I agree with icai. the person foud guilty should be punished. before that we have to ensure that the right person is punished.
Reply
sasi
It is not proper to comment on the auditors without investigating, into the matter...The ICAI should undertake rigourous investigations and inquiries before getting to conclusions
Reply
VSM
Dear readers / commenters, I am not a PwC employee, but there are a couple of points to be noted: PwC supposed follows good auditing standards, Points raised by Jay w.r.t. no signature but initials of Ramalinga Raju, etc are very vital. Auditors are Watch Dogs not Blood Hounds. If as auditors, they relie on mgmt representation as evidence, they cannot be held as negligible in duty. If ICAI finds PwC liable for any misdoings they should punished as per the provisions of ICAI & Co Act
Reply
VM
Before pin pointing anyone,the real facts should be seeked into and then only proper action ought to be taken.
Reply
SANJAY
It is the time to save reputation of ICAI. The ICAI should take action against Audit firm PWC immediately without loss of time.The Satyam episode paint the black warnish on the face of all CA community.
Reply
Sarita
As with the GTB case - again someone is chanting PricewaterhouseCoopers and PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited are separate. The truth is all reside in the same building, advisory gets projects from assurance, have joint parties :), so why not face the music jointly?
Reply
Rahiman
Action should be taken very seriously. Otherwise there will no Security.It is the duty of auditor to disclose the fraud in the statement of accounts. because on the basis of this balance sheet people( small investor) invest in the company. If the big firm do like that than how can people belive in such statement.
Reply
jeet
I agree with icai . the person foud guilty should be punished. before that we have to ensure that the right person is punished. we have to look into facts and figures.
Reply
SANJAY
Strong action should be taken against PWC. However problem lies with appointment of auditors,it should be done by a Independent body viz MCA etc. and by the Copmanies themselves. I would ensure Independence of auditors.
Reply
Siddharth
Its obvious PWC PVT. LTD co. is not auditing the accounts its the PW(PRICE WATERHOUSE) partnerhsip which is doing the same..
Reply
Amit
The only way to minimise such things in future is robust change in way we conduct audits.Moreover ICAI must frame rules to new way of audit as Altenate Audit,ie extra audit to be conducted by different auditors,besides the regular audit u/sec 44B of IT Act.The criteria should be based on turnover i.e for eg a co with turnover >100 crs to conduct alternate audit every 3 yr and co <1000 cr every yr.This system will minimise the chances of fraud as 2 diff sets of auditors will examine the books
Reply
RohitGupta
ICAI should have taken strong action against everyone who were involved in the fraud. Whatever is done by PwC is not believable and before giving true and fair view it have to think about the 50,000 families and the common shareholder Whatever happen is very bad but we have to take lesson from it that before doing any thing we have to understand it properly.
Reply
sachin
i agree with the icai
Reply
sachin
it is the duty of the auditor to see whether the accounts are properly or not. why it is continued for so many years. what is the reason behind it?
Reply
NAYAN
I completely agree with MM, there is no point in putting the list of companies audited by PwC? It shows the rackless and irresponsible act and behaviour of people who are behind this.Absolutely Absurd. PwC should be given a chance to prove themselves...
Reply
cavinayrelan
This fraud is clear nexus of Statuary auditors, Internal Auditor, Board of Directors, top official of the co.In this case even govt. agency like SEBI, MCA, IT Dept etc are also fail to track the fraud, which has been committed in past by showing excess cash and overstated assets etc over period of time,Its a case of worst corporate gover. pract.We think even basis tool of audit like physical verification of cash etc are not follow. We can not expect from PWC like firm to do these type of audit
Reply
K.NAYAN
The Satyam episode questions the independence of the statutory auditors. Even if the auditors are appointed by the shareholders in the AGM, the shareholders have little role in it, rather than pass the ordinary resolution put by the Board. The shareholders may not have the knowledge and time to assess the auditors. The auditors do not qualify their reports for want of their next year assignment. Company auditors should be appointed by some independent authority like MCA/SEBI from their panel.
Reply
Jay
Dear Writers, Please think for few minutes that why should a firm like Pricewaterhouse be involved ina fraud like this? Dont they think about their ethics and reputation?why the letter is not signed by Raju? Why is it only initialled? It is very easy to blame others without knowing the truth...please dont pinpoint one....this is a time we should stay composed
Reply
CA.Yogesh.Kodwani
An audit always carry an inherent risk which means the management can restrict or hide from them the information which if they would have got, the problem would have been identified at the right time. Let us hear the justification of PWC and then reach at the conclusion.
Reply
Hitesh
It is the responsibility of auditor to disclose the fraud in the statement of accounts. because on the basis of this balance sheet people( small investor) invest in the company. If the big firm do like that than how can people belive in such statement.
Reply
Nutan
It is not proper to comment on the auditors without investigating, into the matter...The ICAI should undertake rigourous investigations and inquiries before getting to conclusions.
Reply
Rameshwar
if auditors would have done properly,then they are not resoponsible.however, they would have aware of these fraud then are guilty of misconduct.
Reply
AnilRana
Let we recall at this point of time that Auditor is considered as watchdog for the members of the company. if the dog does not make noise when a stranger(may be a thief) enters is an indication of unfaithfulness. Same is true in case of Satyam. The Auditors(Watchdogs) became corrupt and the disaster took place.
Reply
CA.G.V.Sagar
I think, it seems to be there is clear auditors involvement so auditor is mainly responsible for this fraud.
Reply
Harish
Shame ful for the big fours and this the time that the pannel can be formed by the ICAI for the auditing the top companies and allocation each department can be given to various audit firms and so that financial statement can be look good and be satisfy for the stake holders
Reply
Mohan
I think, auditor is mainly responsible for this fraud, as they have supported the managmenet for doing wrong things
Reply
Mohan
I think, auditor is mainly responsible for this fraud, as they have supported the managmenet for doing wrong things
Reply
Mukund
Company Auditor should be appointed by MCA in line of RBI appointing bank audit. only this will make auditor independent
Reply
YA
I completely agree with MM, there is no point in putting the list of companies audited by PwC? It shows the rackless and irresponsible act and behaviour of people who are behind this.Absolutely Absurd. PwC should be given a chance to prove themselves...
Reply
Jaydip
This is a shameful act on PWC part. The main purpose of auditing and certifying financial results is to authenticate the True and Fair view of Financial statement and also related operations of the company. When we talk about PWC , we always thought of High standard of integrity and assurance. That image is surely tarnished and damaged by now.Moreover not only PWC damaged their image but also left a black spot on CA community at large.
Reply
BALAKRISHNAN
The Satyam episode questions the independence of the statutory auditors. Even if the auditors are appointed by the shareholders in the AGM, the shareholders have little role in it, rather than pass the ordinary resolution put by the Board. The shareholders may not have the knowledge and time to assess the auditors. The auditors do not qualify their reports for want of their next year assignment. Company auditors should be appointed by some independent authority like MCA/SEBI from their panel.
Reply
srinivasreddy
In satyam companies totel responsble is only on management,
Reply
Shash
Auditors should be barred from practising for lifetime and should ne punished severely
Reply
Yashwant
We all respect our TOP most CA firms like PWC and if the audit firm like PWC is involve in this fraud every person invloved must be punished under all laws of land to the maximum extent possible.
Reply
Aditya123
PwC Pvt Ltd is different and Pricewaterhouse is different. Pricewaterhouse is a firm.. n i guess it has audited Satyams.... N i thnk we shud wait and not pass any negative comments on PwC....As it is one of the Big 4s.... We shud hear the other side of the story...
Reply
Aditya
PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd and Pricewaterhouse are two different companies... Pricewaterhouse is a firm..
Reply
Aditya
Pricewaterhouse Coopers Pvt Ltd has not audited Satyams. Its Pricewaterhouse (Firm) who has audited. PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd. and Pricewaterhouse are two different companies...
Reply
SS
Arthur Anderson was laid to rest due to Enron. I hope PWC meets the same fate. It is high time that auditors and the auditing companies are held liable for the signature they affix while they certify the company finances. Auditing companies are highly paid, not to get in bed with the management, but to give a clean chit and find faults with managements misrepresentation.
Reply
Michael
The ICAI does not have a reputation for being energetic or committed to maintaining probity in the CA profession. Whilst their alacrity in SAYING they will take stern action in the Satyam case cannot be faulted, I request them to display the list of members who have been (a)formally investigated, (b) held guilty, and (c) disciplined/punished over the past 10 years. My guess is that the list would be rather brief.
Reply
Michael
The ICAI does not have a reputation for being energetic or committed to maintaining probity in the CA profession. Whilst their alacrity in SAYING they will take stern action in the Satyam case cannot be faulted, I request them to display the list of members who have been (a)formally investigated, (b) held guilty, and (c) disciplined/punished over the past 10 years. My guess is that the list would be rather brief.
Reply
C.A.AmitDaga
As a Chartered Accountant its shame on me.Thatswhy i bel all the companies have appointed Indian C.A instead of appointing global firms like PWC, KPMG E & Y etc. Because Indian accountants knows indian manipulation.
Reply
Surendra.Rakhecha
Satyam ek number ka jhutha nikla.
Reply
bhopal
strong punishment means in india nothing they should not only bar from practice for life long they should be hang in public they are more responsible even more than raju
Reply
Vivek
Press should stop over reacting......Why put PwC list of clients....... Let PwC come out with the facts...under what circumstance they certified the figures.......Raju statement that 5000 crores bogus bank balance looks absurd...... If there is negligence we have ICAI to take action. Let not the Media mess up and pass judgements.
Reply
Ravi
Is the whole bureacracy corrupt, whom we think that they will lead India.Is it not the responsibility of every Indian to do right to their job honestly? Is not the loyal employees in a Coma as they got blood in return for the blood they have shed for building Satyam. But nothing will happen because this is India!!! and we will forget this tommorrow morning and no one is worried if 50000 families come on the road. The only Solution...Voice OUT....Voice OUT... Vande Matram
Reply
RahulRanjan
I think PWC role in this whole saga must be scrutinised and if found guilty, which looks quite probable, be banned from this elite job. This is a little price that should be paid for compromising with ethical standards............
Reply
nwusr
Mr MM, are you an employee of PWC ? We all will definitely hear PWC but they are auditors ,it was their job to prevent or at least report what was happening in SATYAM?
Reply
MM
Whats the point in putting the list of companies audited by PwC? Does this mean these companies have also manipulated the accounts and given green signal by PwC? Absurd. Entire facts are yet to surface.This involves inflated cash. Now hows that possible? whats the role of banks in this? If documents are forged what can the auditors do? Reliance is placed on management on certain audit evidences. Remember Arthur Anderson was aquitted in enron case. Stop overreacting. Lets hear PwC too
Reply
AtulGupta
Most of the CA firms follow the practice of certifying accounts based on the representation letttr from the management, this practice should be immediately stopped by the ICAI.
Reply
KETAN
PwC is a one of the top most CA firms in INDIA. Its a shameful act & a DHABBA on CA professionals which needs to be wiped out. All the Companies Audited by PwC should go under a scrutiny.
Reply
MM
Whats the point in giving the entire list of companies audited by PwC? Does it mean all those companies have also indulged in window dressing to which PwC has given green signal? Absurd!!!If PwC is found guilty they need to be a party to the disciplinary action. But people are overreacting. Remember Arthur and Anderson was acquitted from Enron case. How many people know this? Stop overreacting and wait for the actual facts to emerge before throwing stones at PwC.
Reply
MM
Whats the point in giving the entire list of companies audited by PwC? Does it mean all those companies have also indulged in window dressing to which PwC has given green signal? Absurd!!!If PwC is found guilty they need to be a party to the disciplinary action. But people are overreacting. Remember Arthur and Anderson was acquitted from Enron case. How many people know this? Stop overreacting and wait for the actual facts to emerge before throwing stones at PwC.
Reply
RKDhandia
If CA found guilty of professional negligence then he should be punished severely under all laws of the country. The firm should be debarred from further audit for next 10 years.
Reply
Venu
PriceWaters India needs to be throughly investigated for their role in this scam..Class 10 students would have dn a better job auditing the company by asking for bank statements of the money that the company claimed they had.Let me see where do we begin to investigate..Raju/Satyam internal accountants, PWC, bankers...geez this can go on. I wonder what the real profits of the remaining stock market listed companies audited by PWC are? The basics of auditing according to PWC are 2+2=22
Reply
Chandrashekhar
Its really a shame for Corporate India. Considering the disclosure made by Raju in his letter its very obvious that such a quantum of fraud cannot go undetected by the auditors and its clear that the auditors are very much involved in the fraud. Second the whole story also points fingers on the effecincy of the directors whome Raju claims to be unware of the entire fraud transaction and windown dressing of the accounts.
Reply
Ab
How can PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd a private limited company be the auditor of an Indian company
Reply
Zacharias
Can PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd audit the accounts of an Indian Company
Reply
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