ICAI 'disappointed' at Satyam stake sale

Unhappy over no restatement of accounts.

Apex accounting body Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said on Monday it was “disappointed” over the manner in which the deal to acquire scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services by Tech Mahindra was announced even before the IT major’s accounts were restated.

“I am totally disappointed (over the deal). I am unable to understand how they (the authorities at Satyam) decided the value of Satyam before its accounts were restated,” ICAI President Uttam Prakash Agarwal told reporters in Mumbai.

“Today, such a large deal has taken place without finalising the accounts and assessing the current valuation (of Satyam). This is speculative activity,” he said.

Tech Mahindra emerged as a winner in the race to acquire the Hyderabad-based company with the highest bid price of Rs 58 per share.

The IT firm, led by Anand Mahindra, would have to shell out about Rs 2,889 crore to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the fraud-hit company.

Agarwal said when the Satyam scam surfaced in January, people said that shareholders lost money because the books of accounts were not audited properly by chartered accountants.

He said the two sacked Price Waterhouse chartered accountants involved in Satyam’s auditing should not be blamed as they got incorrect statements from the company.

“Whenever something goes wrong with a company’s accounts, the chartered accountants (are blamed). It is a gameplan of the management,” Agarwal said.