GauravBlog Logo

A Lion’s eye on the Bulls and Bears

“In India, companies may fall sick, but promoters rarely do!”

Gaurav's Blog

Categories

ICAI

Auditors Price Waterhouse….You are sealing your own Fate in this Satyam fraud!

The battered auditors of Satyam,Price Waterhouse,have just issued a letter dated January 13,2009 addressed to their Client,Satyam Computer Services Ltd and marked for the attention of the three New Directors in the New Board and the Company Secretary….This Letter is also been cced to SEBI,RBI,BSE,NSE,New York Stock Exchange,ROC,Hyderabad and the Central Board of Direct Taxes

The Letter reads like a Confession of sorts.First a gist of Some important extracts and then later my observations are as below

  • The letter is signed by a Partner (Name Not Given) on behalf of Price Waterhouse.It is not signed by PWC India Chairman,Ramesh Rajan,who ,a few days ago, sent an email to all employees intimating them that they have begun a comprehensive internal review and requesting them not to discuss the Satyam Issue or offer any comments to the Press or external Sources
  • It refers to the Audit Period from Quarter ending June 30,2000 to Quarter ending September 30,2008…that’s Eight and a Half Years that included 34 quarters
  • PW planned and performed the required audit procedures on the Financial Statements Prepared by Management,examined the books and records produced by the Management and relied on Management for Controls over Financial Reporting,Information and Explanations and Verbal and Written Representations
  • In light of the Confession of Fraud by the ex-chairman and promoter of Satyam,Ramalinga Raju,PW warns that their opinions on the financial statements may be rendered inaccurate and unreliable
  • In accordance with the Guidance Note of January 2003 of the ICAI for Revision of the Audit Report and which prescribes steps the auditor must follow to prevent reliance on audit reports under such circumstances,PW has stated that their audit reports and opinions in respect of the Financial Statements for the Audit Period should no longer be relied on
  • In USA,Under GAAP too such a requirement as above is prescribed…Under Sec10A of the US Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,the Information contained in the Chairman’s Letter indicates that an illegal act could have occured.PW advises the Board of Directors to conduct an independent investigation under this US Law section to unearth this illegal act. 
  • read more

    SATYAM : Seems Sunk and looks difficult to Save and Salvage as too many Contingencies scaring off potential Buyers

    On Paper, as of September 30,2008 the Assets of Satyam were Rs 8300 crs…after adjusting for the overstated assets and understated liabilities as confessed by the now disgraced Promoter Chairman,Ramalinga Raju the networth of Satyam drops to @ Rs 1200 crs….With 67 crore shares of Face Value Rs 2 in existence,the book valueper share would get restated to around Rs 20…Satyam’s Share Price has dropped from yesterday’s closing of Rs 40 to Rs 20 this morning reflecting this

    But will Satyam’s Share Price drop to Zero or move up from here !? Will Trading be stopped in it ?

    The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has written to the Prime Minister to form a Committee of I T Stalwarts,Narayan Murthy from Infosys,Azim Premji from Wipro and Ramodarai of TCS to salvage Satyam and save the jobs of over the claimed 50000 Satyam Employees 

    However,as I look at it right Now even this restated networth of Rs 1200 crs of Satyam looks suspect and will be under threat on two accounts

    • Ramalinga Raju has confessed that for years he inflated Revenues and Profits in Satyam ..It has to be investigated as to when did he start doing so and what is the quantum of inflated revenues and profits…If he inflated Revenues,then it would mean perhaps that the Debtors have been overstated and further adjustment may not be required here…but Profits may convert to losses and therefore Reserves may need further adjustment to reflect the quantum of overstated profits…This would reduce the Networth further and posssibly make it Negative…This would mean the Book Value of Rs20 too would appear overstated
    • Law Suits have already been filed in USA on behalf of ADR Shareholders and law suits will surely follow in India too….Claims in such suits runs into Hundreds of Millions of Dollars…Satyam may not be solvent enough to tackle such Claims…Right Now such Claims are Contingent

    There are some other tainted issues too…like the Real Number of Satyam Employees…Management claims 53000 employees….It is suspected that this figure is grossly overstated…Also there is strong views on the Credibility of Satyam Managers…Most IT Companies are smply in no hurry to absorb them…In fact Infosys has categorically said it will not touch tainted Satyam and has also instructed it’s HR Dept not to entertain Satyam Employee Resumes

    It is difficult for any Potential Buyer to only absorb the Operating Business of Satyam without exposing themselves to the sword of growing Contingent Liabilities

    As a seperate Legal Entity,Satyam is toxic to touch right now…However what will happen is that It’s Lifeline,it’s Clients will review their relationship with Satyam and in all probability migrate to other IT Companies as the risk of staying with Satyam may be too high…Satyam resources may be directed towards fighting for survival rather than Client Servicing…To maintain some level of Continuity,what is possible is that Satyam Teams working on Genuine Client Business may also migrate to the Clients directly or to the IT Company that has taken over from Satyam to serve the Client

    The Nightmare for Satyam has only just begun…..difficult to see any potential Buyer taking the risk to buyout Satyam,given the growing contingent liabilities…therefore cannot advice to buy into Satyam at Rs 20

    Remember the risk that some crazy NSE Member took when he bought Millions of Shares of the tainted Global Trust Bank at Rs 9 to Rs 11 a few years ago in the wrong belief that a white knight or the Government will bail it out read more

    AUDITORS PRICE WATERHOUSE : Will Surely Pay the PRICE as there is not enough WATER to douse the SATYAM FLAMES that are engulfing their HOUSE !

    Within just one day of Satyam’s Promoter Chairman,Ramalinga Raju confessing to cooking up the Books, in his letter to the Board,the Auditing House and one of the ‘Big Four’,PRICE WATERHOUSE is already being relegated to history for their role in this unfolding and sordid Satyam Saga…remember how the Auditing Giant,Arther Anderson wound up when Enron failed !?

    Price Waterhouse audits over 100 listed Indian companies like the Auto Giants Maruti and even the huge HCL Group in the Software Sector…so it’s not that they don’t have any experience of auditing software majors…..So their obvious lapses when auditing Satyam was a huge shocker

    I remember that in 2007, when I was at a High Profile Corporate Governance Seminar in Mumbai where the dignitaries were Heads of Exchanges and Government Ministries and Leading Corporate and Auditing Houses from all over India,there was a very ‘show offy’ lady from Price Waterhouse whose presentation revolved around their specially developed software of a Corporate Governance System that clould be implemented by Corporates….When the Chief Secretary of the Orissa Government,one Mr Patnaik,asked her how much would this Software and Implementation Cost and could it be applied to PSU and Government Set Ups,this lady had the bloody cheek and arrogance to state ” You probably would not be able to afford it !…It would cost over Rs One Crore “….There was a shocked and studied silence for a few moments on her brazenness…When I was asked to address the audience I commented on this sort of arrogant and snobbish mindset by professionals..She was just one of a Tribe, that sadly has many members,who have inflated egos and inflated opinions of themselves and their firm and status….I daresay it’s a contagious American Banking and Corporate Trait…but look where it’s landed America and it’s once major Powerhouse Icons !

    Auditors are appointed by Shareholders at the AGM to ensure Independent Review and Audit of the Financial Books and Assets…but for all purposes their Independence is severely compromised as they have to interact with Management and Promoters to solicit increase in Fees and potential other Business like Certification,Tax and Conultancy work in Mergers and Acquisition and Valuation Situations….even though the ICAI and the Companies Act has directives that should be followed and practises so as to not create any Conflict of Interest in Auditors,these firms find a way out by routing business other than audit to other front or related and friendly firms…as this is widely practised by most firms in this competitive era,the ICAI is not a very strict enforcer of directives and guidelines….this strengthens and makes for a compelling case for the government to intervene and set up a seperate legal body to conduct Audits or create a Regulatory Body for Auditors.In fact the New Amendments to the Companies Act will involve stricter and more stringent compliance by Auditors and Directors read more

    Scroll to Top