PwC partners found guilty of professional misconduct
Price Waterhouse partner S Gopalakrishnan, currently under arrest for his alleged role in fudging the books of Satyam Computer Services, alongwith two others has been found guilty of 'professional misconduct' in auditing the books of Global Trust ...
By Souvik Sanyal, ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: Price Waterhouse partner S Gopalakrishnan, currently under arrest for his alleged role in fudging the books of Satyam Computer Services, alongwith two others has been found guilty of 'professional misconduct' in auditing the books of Global Trust bank (GTB), accounting regulator Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said here.
Apart from Mr Gopalakrishnan, the two other auditors found guilty by the ICAI include Price Waterhouse partner P Ramakrishna and Manish Agarwal, an employee of audit firm Lovelock & Lewes. ICAI initiated disciplinary proceedings in 2004, after the banking regulator RBI, filed a complaint with the ICAI after finding differences between Price Waterhouse's numbers and its own numbers in the case of Global Trust Bank (GTB).
"All the three people have been found guilty of professional misconduct by the disciplinary committee," ICAI president Uttam Agarwal said on Tuesday. The disciplinary committee report will be discussed by the ICAI Council at its meeting in March, Mr Agarwal said.
The disciplinary committee had given its findings to ICAI in the GTB case relating to three financial years, from 2000-01 to 2002-03, he said. On the action that could be initiated against the guilty auditors, Mr Agarwal said that any punitive action against the erring auditors would depend on the gravity of offence.
The auditors were accused of professional negligence in not detecting reduced provisioning for non-performing assets in the balance sheet of the Hyderabad-based GTB, which later in 2004 was merged with the Delhi-based Oriental Bank of Commerce.
Apart from Mr Gopalakrishnan, the two other auditors found guilty by the ICAI include Price Waterhouse partner P Ramakrishna and Manish Agarwal, an employee of audit firm Lovelock & Lewes. ICAI initiated disciplinary proceedings in 2004, after the banking regulator RBI, filed a complaint with the ICAI after finding differences between Price Waterhouse's numbers and its own numbers in the case of Global Trust Bank (GTB).
"All the three people have been found guilty of professional misconduct by the disciplinary committee," ICAI president Uttam Agarwal said on Tuesday. The disciplinary committee report will be discussed by the ICAI Council at its meeting in March, Mr Agarwal said.
The disciplinary committee had given its findings to ICAI in the GTB case relating to three financial years, from 2000-01 to 2002-03, he said. On the action that could be initiated against the guilty auditors, Mr Agarwal said that any punitive action against the erring auditors would depend on the gravity of offence.
The auditors were accused of professional negligence in not detecting reduced provisioning for non-performing assets in the balance sheet of the Hyderabad-based GTB, which later in 2004 was merged with the Delhi-based Oriental Bank of Commerce.
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