Satyam's account cleaning to take 6 months

9 Feb 2009, PTI


MUMBAI: The “cleaning up” or restating of scam-tainted Satyam’s accounts is expected to take at least six months as the newly-appointed auditing firms will have to scrutinise the company’s fudged numbers back to 2002, a top source said.

“Efforts to restate the accounts are progressing rapidly. The Board expects this task to take at least six months. The restated accounts can be expected to be ready earliest by July,” the source said.

A 30-member team from Chennai-based Brahmaiah & Company, appointed as the 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 Q3 results as quickly as possible and hence the move,” the source said.

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

“The auditors - KPMG and Deloitte - have not submitted any report to the Board so far,” the source added. The Satyam Board has already obtained permission from the market regulator to extend the time for it to announce its Octobr-December results.

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

Meanwhile, the board is yet to take a call on how to deal with Price Waterhouse, the statutory auditor of the company, which has received severe flak in the aftermath of the scam.