- ICAI cannot ban the firm in India
- ICAI does not have power to act against firms
- Newspaper report on banning PW incorrect
- ICAI can take action only against partners
- Any action against partners a long process
- PwC was not contacted by ICAI high powered committee
PwC is yet to hold a single press conference ever since the Satyam scam broke out in early January.
3. Price Waterhouse partners S. Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri are still in jail. Their remand is extended again until July 22nd.
4. A team from the US SEC is visiting India next week “to take stock of the progress made so far by the Indian regulatory and investigating agencies in unravelling the Rs 7,000-crore accounting scam.”
5. A reader writes:
Folks in PwC are trying to obfuscate and say that Lovelock & Lewes is riddle and PwC is an enigma both wrapped in a shroud of mystery.
Thank you for blowing up the myth that L&L and PwC are two different organizations. They are one and the same.
Apart from the various mischiefs committed by the common partners that you have already reported -here is the evidence that partners are running lucrative computer training businesses with politicians. Please go to http://www.iijt.net/ and then see the section “about us”. You will find that Partha Mitra who has been described as Senior Partner L&L and Partner-in-charge PwC is running a computer training business along with a central council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the ex-Finance Minister of India Mr Yashwant Sinha.
Thus the incest lies deep within both the regulator (ICAI) and the Indian political system. Hence while two of their partners are in jail no action is being taken against the firm.
Perhaps they got the idea from the President of the AICPA.
6. In the “more problems” department: The Indian Supreme Court on Monday, Jul 13 has handed over a case to the Centre to decide whether to prosecute chartered accountant firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd for alleged errors in computing its taxable income for 2000-01.
Finally, I have identified more examples of potential independence violations on the part of PwC with regard to Satyam like the one I described in the PwC/Idearc/Satyam engagement.
PwC and Satyam have been spending too much time together, in too close quarters, at a number of clients all over the world. When you add the scandal to the mix, it’s becoming pretty clear that PricewaterhouseCoop ers International Limited’s relationship with their audit client Satyam was long and deep and broad and systemic. It went far beyond their audit relationship, surely can be perceived as compromising their audit obligations, and was directed by the highest levels of PwC and PWC IL management for the benefit of their “phoenix from the ashes” consulting practice.
