MUMBAI: In a big setback to auditing firm Price Waterhouse (PW), accounting regulator Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has submitted a report that seems to suggest glaring lapses on the part of PW while auditing Satyam.
According to highly placed sources at ICAI, the report was handed over to CBI a couple of months ago, and has been signed by ICAI president Uttam Agarwal.
The key findings of the report include:
* Auditor Price Waterhouse did not follow auditing standards while conducting the audit of Satyam.
* auditors ignored audit evidence that clearly showed discrepancy in bank account balances submitted by Satyam management and the bank confirmation obtained by the auditors from the banks.
* auditors ignored audit evidence that suggested fraud at Satyam.
Ever since the Satyam scam broke out in January, the role of auditors Price Waterhouse has been under the scanner. Two PW partners who signed the Satyam accounts for the last few years, Srinivas Talluri and S Gopalakrishnan, have been in Hyderabad jail for nearly five months.
The CBI chargesheet against the auditors is believed to have taken into consideration the report signed by ICAI president Agarwal.
