PwC staff keep fingers crossed

PRICE Waterhouse offices across the country have been closely following developments in Hyderabad where Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials seized documents from the auditors’ office, as part of investigations into Satyam’s mammoth Rs 7,000-crore financial fraud.
   While employees admitted to feeling ‘jittery’, there was a general buzz that Price Waterhouse would be able to overcome what is clearly the biggest debacle in its corporate auditing mandate.
   “There is no raid at the Price Waterhouse Hyderabad office. We are in discussions with different agencies for providing information requested by them. We are fully cooperating with the agencies and providing whatever information, documents or material that have been asked for,” Price Waterhouse said. Though employees across the audit firm’s offices reported for work as usual and were seemingly carrying on with their jobs, they conceded to feeling “edgy and jittery.” Following legal advice, none of the partners at the firm were making any comments about the developments or defend the firm’s against allegations of its alleged involvement in the Satyam acccounting fraud. Talking to employees, one got a sense of a general feeling of disappointment at what is being viewed as a ‘trial by media.’
   “Our reputation is at stake. It takes years to build a reputation, but only a few minutes to tarnish it. “We are cooperating with the authorities and we have the supporting documents. Hopefully, we will be able to put all this behind us,” a Price Waterhouse executive, who did not wish to be named, said.
   On Tuesday, CID officials said a team visited the Price Waterhouse office in Hyderabad’s upmarket Jubilee Hills and seized documents and other records. The role of the global auditing firm came under cloud after Satyam founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju resigned last Wednesday owning up to massive fraud in the company’s accounts.