New Delhi - Two auditors from the Indian member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers have been charged in the Satyam accounting scandal.
Auditors S. Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri were both charged in the case involving technology outsourcer Satyam Computer Services, which has been accused of a massive accounting fraud that has been dubbed "India's Enron."
Also charged in the case were Satyam founder and former chair Ramalinga Raju, as well as its former chief financial officer, vice president of finance, senior finance manager, and a managing director and a director.
Satyam's shares plunged after the chairman admitted in January to falsifying over $1 billion worth of assets on the company's books.
Pricewaterhouse India said that it was surprised and disappointed by the charges against its auditors. "The fraud perpetrated by Raju and his cohorts was designed to and did circumvent PwC India's audit process," said a statement from the firm. "The two Satyam audit partners, and PwC India, were victims of that fraud."
Since news of the scandal broke earlier this year, PwC announced massive changes in the structure of the Indian member firm. It is adding a five-member advisory board in India, a new head of risk management from outside India, a new auditing team in India, and a change of management inside the firm's Hyderabad office.
(c) 2009 Accounting Today and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.webcpa.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
@
