Satyam seeks CLB nod to publish Q3 results

Satyam Computer, in the process of restating accounts following the admission of fraud by its disgraced promoter B Ramanlinga Raju, has sought the Company Law Board's (CLB) approval to publish its third-quarter results.

"We have written to the CLB on Q3 results and are awaiting their response. There is no timeline yet on the restatement of accounts," the company spokesperson told PTI.

Asked to comment on the exact employee strength of Satyam in the wake of reports of a massive exodus from the company, the official said "since the restatement of numbers and the bidding process are underway, Satyam is in a quiet period and we are not in a position to state numbers".

The "cleaning up" or restatement of Satyam’s accounts is expected to come in July as the newly-appointed audit firms will have to scrutinise the company’s fudged numbers starting from 2002, according to a source in the company.

A 30-member team from Chennai-based Brahmaiah & Company, appointed as internal auditor, is going through the fraud-hit IT major’s accounts in Hyderabad.

Besides, two foreign auditing firms -- KPMG and Deloitte -- have also been mandated by the government-appointed Satyam board to scrutinise the IT firm’s books of accounts.

The auditors have been asked to work backwards -- 2008-09 to 2002 -- to facilitate a speedy declaration of Q3 results, the source said.

"The board wants to declare the company's Q3FY09 results as quickly as possible and hence the move," the source said.

Satyam's former Chairman B Ramalinga Raju had confessed in January to cooking the company's balance sheets for several years by inflating profit numbers and understating its liabilities.

Though no deadline has been set for the auditors to come up with the restated numbers, they have been told to complete the task "as quickly as possible", the source said.

The Satyam board had obtained permission from the market regulator to extend the time for it to announce its Q3FY09 results.

According to existing regulations, listed companies are required to announce quarterly results within a month of the end of a quarter.