'Indian Enron' could spell trouble for PwC

B. Ramalinga Raju

Satyam has been described as India’s Enron after the admission last week by its chairman, B. Ramalinga Raju, that an accounting fraud worth more than $1bn had taken place at the computer services company.

A statement issued yesterday, after the first meeting of a new government- appointment board, said an ‘independent accountant’ would be appointed in the next two days to restate the accounts and announce Q3 results.

PwC declined to comment but it is understood the firm is still unclear whether it will lose the Satyam audit because the auditor would need to be replaced at an annual general meeting. It remains possible that the board is looking for an independent firm to act as forensic accountants rather than auditor. Police officers have also met with PwC staff at their offices in Hyderabad. The firm has complied with requests to supply documents believed to relate to the audit.