PW names two more for their role in Satyam audit

Price Waterhouse (PW), the audit arm of international professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, has named four of its accounting professionals as answerable to the Rs 7,800-crore corporate fraud at Satyam.

Besides S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri, who are under arrest for their alleged role in the Satyam scam, Price Waterhouse has given two more names - P Shiva Prasad and CH Ravindranath - to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which regulates the chartered accounting professionals in India.

Further, PW informed ICAI that only its Bangalore firm is answerable to the allegations. Its other two firms in Delhi and Kolkata were not the auditors of Satyam Computer Services, the firm said in its reply to a notice sent by ICAI. There are seven PW firms registered in India.

On January 24, Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri were arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police for colluding with B Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam in fudging the company's accounts. Gopalakrishnan is a senior council member of ICAI, while Srinivas Talluri is a member of ICAI.

In the wake of Satyam scam, ICAI had sent notice to PW in January. Incidentally, ICAI can take action against members of ICAI and not against the firms.

In another development, ICAI has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Satyam former chief financial officer (CFO) V Srinivas and senior vice president (internal audit cell of Satyam VS Prabhakara Gupta. "We are working on this on a fast track basis and would come out with a report in six months," said Uttam Prakash Agarwal, president of ICAI.

While Gupta has submitted his written statement, Srinivas has requested for one month's time to submit his written statement. He has been granted extension till April 9, 2009. On being asked if he would be provided further extension, Agarwal replied that the decision would depend on the situation.