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MUMBAI: Beleaguered IT major Satyam Computer today surged over 31% on country’s two main bourses, amid software company iGate expressing interest n acquiring parts of the company.

Shares of Satyam surged 31.25% to settle at Rs 38.85 on the BSE. During the trade the scrip had surged to a high of Rs 39.30, on the BSE.

Analysts said that the gain in Satyam scrip was mainly due to acquisition rumours doing rounds about the IT firm.

iGate CEO Phaneesh Murthy today said that the company was interested in initiating talks for a possible acquisition of some businesses of Satyam.

“We are interested in a dialogue with Satyam and currently are quite keen and comfortable to acquire selective portions of the business,” Murthy said.

On the National Stock Exchange, the scrip closed with a gain of Rs 38.85, up 31.25 per cent after touching an intra-day high of Rs 39.35 on the NSE.

Over 20.26 crore shares got traded on the NSE, while 11.14 crore shares changed hands on the BSE.

Satyam’s director Tarun Das had earlier said that the company had been approached by Indian and international IT companies and that the board would decide on it.

Murthy said that, “We have to wait for the new board at Satyam to evaluate all strategic options and based on that evaluation, set the direction for the company, before we disclose what our strategic plan is.”    - Source: TOI

Hyderabad, INDIA, January 23, 2009: Satyam Computer Services Limited (NYSE: SAY) today announced key decisions concluded at its Board meeting, held on 22nd and 23rd January, 2009  in Hyderabad.
This meeting, the third in thirteen days since its reconstitution, was chaired by Mr. Tarun Das. The meeting focused on issues that are a priority for ensuring [read more]

The chartered accountants regulator ICAI on Thursday said KMPG cannot audit Satyam’s books, but the global auditor said it does not require to register with the regulator to restate the IT company’s accounts.

“KPMG is not allowed to practice in India… they are not registered with us,” ICAI president Ved Jain said, while cautioning scam-tainted Satyam against going ahead with this auditor.

Satyam’s new board has mandated KPMG and Deloitte to restate the company’s financial statements, after founder Ramalinga Raju admitted cooking of accounts to inflate profits and create fictitious assets.

Reacting to ICAI’s caveat, KPMG said: “It is our understanding that the scope of work (at Satyam) to be finalised is not reserved for CAs registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.”

“We are working with the new board of Satyam Computer. The scope of work and terms of reference are being discussed with a view to their finalisation,” a KPMG spokesperson said.

KPMG and Deloitte were brought in on Wednesday even as Satyam’s bookkeeper Price Waterhouse said that its audit of the IT company’s accounts may be unreliable given Raju’s admission of a financial fraud running into thousands of crores of rupees.

© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.

Source / via: MSN

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Read all about satyam scandal at www.ghotala.in

• Satyam’s lifeline? Rs 1700 crore receivable
• A 23 year old Satyam employee commits suicide fearing job loss
• Investigators probing the financial manipulation, Raju’s accounting skills seem to be too good to crack.
• Government not to bail out Satyam Computer
• Satyam urgently needs Rs 150cr: Mynampati
• Insider trading in Satyam?
• What more? Satyam bosses sold most shares ahead of scam
• The new Satyam board has made it clear that it is not interested in a government bailout for the IT company
• Satyam Raju avoiding probe in Satyam scam, claims SEBI
• Do you know Satyam Raju had 50 bank accounts in 2002

Read all about satyam scandal at www.ghotala.in

NEW DELHI: Chartered accountants body ICAI on Saturday served a showcause notice on auditor and asked it to submit balance sheets of Satyam Computer audited by it in the last five years.

“We today served showcause notice on Price Waterhouse and asked it to reply within 21 days,” Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) President Ved Jain said.

If the reply to the notice does not come by 21 days, all members of Price Waterhouse who audited the Saytam accounts could be banned for life time, Jain said.

The firm has also been asked to submit balance sheets, financial statements and other relevant documents of Satyam Computer audited by it for the last five years, he said.

The audit firm has maintained that it followed applicable audit standards and went by audit evidence provided by the company.

The ICAI President said action against CAs, who audited the accounts of Satyam Computer, can be expected in 2-3 months, if found guilty.

However, the institute cannot take action against the firm, he said.

Jain said the institute would expedite the process this time as the amendment of the Chartered Accountants Act in 2006 has enabled ICAI to accelerate the proceedings.

CAs found either negligent or party to the fraud could face a life-time ban on practising, Jain said.

The institute has taken action against 122 CAs for various kinds of irregularities in the last three years with one of them even being barred for life time, he said.

Jain said Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju’s statement that only he knew about the financial wrong-doings did not look like the whole truth, as he did not write the accounts of his company.

Ramalinga Raju in a letter written to the company board admitted, “…None of the board members, past or present, had any knowledge of the situation in which the company is placed.”

Read all about satyam scandal at www.ghotala.in

KOLKATA: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has decided to issue a show cause notice to the auditors of Satyam Computer Services in the backdrop of Satyam Computers chairman B Ramalinga Raju’s sensational revelations on Wednesday.

Talking to ET, ICAI president Ved Jain said: “We have set the ball rolling. On the basis of statements made by Mr Ramalinga Raju, ICAI has already initiated proceedings against the concerned auditor. Under legal provisions our disciplinary committee can take cognizance of information from external sources and initiate action against our members. On the basis of the statement, a show cause notice will be sent to the auditor of the Satyam Computer Services.”

Asked specifically, who the notice was being sent to, Mr Jain said: “I am told the audit firm was PricewaterhouseCoopers. A show cause notice will soon be sent to the auditor. This is indeed a situation where fingers are being pointed towards some chartered accountants.”

On the issue, an ICAI council member who declined to be named said: “As auditors, we definitely have a role to play. This incident gives the entire chartered accountants fraternity a bad name. If we unravel any wrong doings on the part of the auditors, the institute (ICAI) will initiate action against the concerned auditor. Auditors base their observations on documentary evidence provided to auditors and Mr Raju did not mention that the figures provided to auditors were wrong. However, if the auditors have failed, the institute will file an ‘Information Case’ against the concerned individual (at PwC, in this case) as a first step.”

The ICAI’s Council is a core team that deals with critical aspects of running the Institute and policy matters involved as well as various accounting norms.

Experience, however, shows the process of ruling on such cases takes time. For instance, ICAI had initiated proceddings against the auditors of the erstwhile Global Trust Bank (GTB) a couple of years ago. The case is yet to be diposed off, the council member said.

Read more about satyam scandal

Shares in Satyam Computers, the Indian software company engulfed by the country’s biggest-ever corporate fraud investigation, climbed 45pc after the government appointed a new board to decide on its future.

The three-person board, led by Deepak Parekh, chairman of the Housing Development Finance bank, will look at options including a break-up of Satyam, to give staff and clients some certainty over the future of the company. They will then begin restating the company’s earnings, which chairman Ramalinga Raju admitted last week had been falsified for years.

The new board will also look at how much cash Satyam has to pay wages and complete contracts.

Satyam’s shares were hammered by the revelations, and the value of the company dropped to $330m (£218.9m) at the end of last week from more than $7bn six months ago.

Police in India also said over the weekend they had detained the chief financial officer of Satyam as part of the alleged $1bn fraud investigation.   - read more about satyam scandal

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex tumbled nearly 300 points on Monday, the third time in a row, on aggressive selling by funds,
weak opening in European stock markets , and the World Bank debarring more software companies, including Wipro, till 2011.

The Sensex, which had been falling in the last two trading sessions after the Satyam Computer fraud came to light, fell further by 296.42 points at 9,110.05. It touched the day’s low of 9,024.45 and a high of 9,331.13 points.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell 99.90 points at 2,773.10, after touching a low of 2,748.55.

Wipro, the third software producer and a component of the key index, fell 12 per cent soon after the World Bank barred the company from direct contracts until 2011, citing a conflict of interest. The stock ended with a fall of Rs 23.30 at Rs 227.35.

The government’s moves to put the beleaguered software firm back on track failed to lift the broader markets, as negative global cues weighed on the investor sentiments.

The government’s moves to put the beleaguered software firm back on track failed to lift the broader markets, as negative global cues weighed on the markets. Asian stock markets
retreated on Monday as a jump in US unemployment intensified concerns the global economy is facing a prolonged slump.

The Sensex is down 135 points to 9,271 while Nifty has shed 50 points to 2,822 level.

“Markets still remain in a bearish trend,” said Ajay Bagga, chairman of Financial Planning Standards Board of India. On Satyam, he said that the IT company’s brand image has been tarnished and the extent of liabilities needs to be figured out. However, the stock has rallied over 50 per cent after the government appointed three members to Satyam Computer’s board.

In a setback to another IT stock, Wipro, it is down nearly 4 per cent after Wipro disclosed that it can’t contest World Bank contracts for 2007-11.

Source  /courtesy: NDTV profit 

All about Satyam scandal / scam at www.ghotala.in

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex is expected to start lower on Monday, tracking weaker regional markets, but Satyam Computer Services Ltd could bounce after the government appointed a three-man board to restore confidence in the scandal-hit outsourcer.

“Whatever shares had to be sold have already been sold and now with the old board out and a new board in, foreign investors will feel encouraged to invest in the stock and in the Indian market,” said Arun Kejriwal, director of Kris Brokerage.

An accounting fraud, revealed by chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju last Wednesday in a stunning resignation letter, has battered Satyam shares, with its market value plunging to $330 million at Friday’s close, against more than $7 billion just six months ago.

Bigger rivals Infosys Technologies, which reports December quarter result on Tuesday, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are expected to be in focus on a

perception they could benefit from problems in Satyam.

However, the main BSE index, which fell 5.5 percent last week to 9,406.47, could ease on concerns the Satyam scandal could trigger tighter regulations. Foreign funds sold $262 million worth of Indian equities on Wednesday following Satyam’s revelations.

Read  about satyam scandal at www.ghotala.in

Read all about Satyam Scandal / Ghotala at

www.Ghotala.in

• Satyam CFO, who attempted suicide, had offloaded over 92,000 shares
• Satyam’s bank statements go missing
• In India, Crisis Pairs With Satyam Fraud
• Raju family also pledged Maytas stocks, assets as collateral
• Satyam head Raju arrested, board scrapped
• Satyam’s U.S. Investors File Actions Alleging Fraud
• ‘Satyam fraud: Not a one man show’
• Does Satyam have cash to pay salaries?
• Satyam CFO Srinivas Vadlamani Attempts Suicide
• A team from India’s capital markets regulator will meet Satyam’s Raju

read details & view more news at www.Ghotala.in

Satyam was - one of the favourite large-cap stocks for investors. I am left wondering - if such things happen in a large-cap company, which is one of India’s top…What is going on in others? But there is one thing - this further makes us understand what risk of Equity investing actually is… No company is safe.

This could be just the tip of the iceberg, god knows who else in Satyam is involved and its the investors who take the grunt.

Read full story>

Also Read Satyam actual letter from Mr. Ramalinga Raju to its board directors admitting fraud

In the country’s biggest corporate fraud involving about Rs 8,000 crore, iconic IT company Satyam was on Wednesday hurtling towards Satyam’s board members.

Five facts about Satyam disaster following the shocking disclosure of accounts fudging by its founder Ramalinga Raju, who then quit as chairman - leaving an uncertain future for the company and its 53,000 employees.

By the end of the day, the fourth largest IT company lost a staggering Rs 10,000 crore in market capitalisation as investors reacted sharply and dumped shares, pushing down the scrip by 78 per cent to Rs 39.95 at BSE. The NYSE-listed firm could also face regulator action in the US.

(more…)

MUMBAI: In possibly the biggest single day fall for a stock, Satyam Computer Services lost 77 per cent to end at Rs 40.25 on NSE. The stock’s woes began in December after the company’s promoters made a $1.6-billion bid for Maytas Properties and Maytas Infrastructure promoted by Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju’s son.

However, adverse market reaction, which saw the company’s ADR take a knock of 54.5% to $5.70, made the company call off the proposed acquisition. At the time, Chairman Raju evinced surprise saying he was “surprised by the market reaction to this decision even though we were quite positive about the merits of the acquisition.”
(more…)

Announcement for Members holding Certificate of Practice (COP) with regard to Compliance of CPE hours requirements for the Calendar Year 2008 (27.12.2008)

Deadline of 31st December, 2008 for completion of minimum 20 CPE hours of structured learning for 2008 extended upto 31st January, 2009

The government is likely to revise downwards indirect tax collections target for the current financial year by at least Rs 20,000 crore, because of cut in industrial production due to the global economic slowdown and duty sops. Also, direct tax collections, which constitute 53 per cent of total tax revenue for the government, has registered a growth rate of only 11 per cent in the current fiscal so far, as against a required rate of 16 per cent to achieve the budget estimate. (more…)

The economic slowdown will not prevent the government from meeting its 2008-09 direct tax collection target. “We are confident of achieving the 2008-09 target of Rs 3,95,000 crore,” said N.B. Singh, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). According to CBDT officials, British telecom firm Vodafone will pay Rs 10,000 crore as capital gains tax following an order by Bombay High Court.

(more…)