SATYAM-THE TRUTH TURNED INTO LIE
Satyam Computers, the Indian IT company, the 4th largest services exporter in India with B. Ramalinga Raju as its founder and Chairman disclosed financial bun -gling w o r t h thousands of crores. The Chairman resigned & admitted Satyam's financials were being inflated over the past years to the tune of about Rs 7,000 crore, in its balance sheet and financial results. The actual Operating Profit was around 10% of the reported amount & in cash flow statement the discrepancy was over 95%, the balance sheet was riddled with fictitious assets and non existent cash of around $1 billion. Raju also tried to play with the mislead financial figures of Satyam by announcing an attempt to acquire Maytas Infras and Maytas Properties for $1.6 billion, a real estate firm run by another of Mr. Raju’s sons. Raju has relieved the burden on his conscience by bringing to light one of the biggest-ever frauds in Indian corporate history. Price Waterhouse, the statutory auditor to Satyam Computers would be blacklisted as an audit firm if the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India would be convinced by its involvement in the falsification of the Company accounts. The former Satyam Chairman has been arrested, booked for non-bailable offences under the Indian Penal Code which could put him behind bars for years. This Scandal has send the company's shares plunging nearly 84 per cent, the impact of Mr. Raju’s misdeeds was visible on the Indian stock markets and the damage is not limited to the technology sector, it is more on India Inc’s credibility, rather than brand India IT, as it is a wider problem and not sector specific. India Inc expressed "deep shock" and "disbelief" at the Satyam saga stating that loopholes must be plugged in regulation, audit and governance to restore the confidence of the stakeholders in corporate firms. The Government stepped in to save the company from the brink of a feared collapse by sacking and replacing the remnants of Satyam’s discredited Board of Directors. The top agenda for the newly appointed board of Satyam Computer Services would be restoring the investor confidence and protecting the interests of over 50,000 employees, restructuring the financial statements and appointment of key managerial personnel, especially the Chief Finance Officer (CFO). The Satyam financial scandal is a remarkable questionable episode on
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