ICAI to withdraw proceedings against PW Delhi

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New Delhi: Accounting regulator ICAI on Wednesday agreed to withdraw disciplinary proceedings against audit firm Price Waterhouse (PW) Delhi for its alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam in Satyam Computer Services.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) decided to withdraw proceedings against PW, Delhi, after the Delhi High Court objected to the regulator's action against the firm without giving any evidence that it was related to PW, Bangalore, the statutory auditors of Satyam.

“They are separate partnership firms with separate balancesheets. There is no inter-connection (between PW Delhi, PW Bangalore and PW Kolkata) and profit and loss of one cannot be shared by others. You cannot say that the Bangalore firm, which was the statutory auditor of Satyam, has anything to do with Delhi firm,” said Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

The court, however, made it clear that the regulator is free to initiate fresh proceedings if it finds “prima facie evidence of misconduct” against PW Delhi, a member of global auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

“I am with you (ICAI) if they are wrong. But the anxiety of the court is that there must be fairness in the proceeding. If someone has done wrong, then he must be punished,” the court told ICAI while passing the order.

The Delhi-based franchise of audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers had on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of proceedings initiated against it by the government in the aftermath of Satyam scam. It pleaded before the court that the government proceedings were illegal as they have no connection with the Bangalore-based franchise which had audited Satyam accounts.