The Hindu Business Line : Industry seeks thorough probe

Chennai/Bangalore, Jan. 7 Peers of Satyam Computers such as Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant are shocked and dismayed over Wednedsay’s revelations of chairman Mr B. Ramalinga Raju.

“Personally, I am shocked and ashamed. The deliberate nature of this act is what is distressing,” said Mr Lakshmi Narayanan, Vice-Chairman of Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Asked if this would impact the industry in terms of image, Mr Narayanan said, "It would. All kinds of due diligence, whether customers conduct it or auditors, would become tougher. That would mean delays and costs. The efficiency of the industry would be impacted."

“The whole incident is deplorable and the government and regulators must investigate the matter to get to the bottom of this. They should also make necessary changes to regulations so that such incidents do not happen in future,” Infosys said in a statement.

Condemning any attempt to mislead shareholders, Mr Suresh Senapaty, Chief Financial Officer, Wipro Ltd, called for a detailed investigation of the developments by the authorities without any delay.

“We have seen a significant change in regulatory environment compared to what it was five years ago. Despite that, I don’t think you can change the nature of an individual. I think greed is a particular element in any human being and that can go to any extent,” said Mr Senapaty.

Stating that Satyam was an isolated case and not representative of any industry or country, Mr Senapaty said the developments were nothing to do with the nature of business or outsourcing.

“Therefore I don’t think this should in any manner worry the customers except making them a little more careful in terms of their own risk management processes, their own way of trying to ascertain which companies they want to partner with,” Mr Senapaty said.

Mr Gordon Coburn, Chief Financial Officer, Cognizant, said a such a fraud reinforces the value and importance of strong corporate governance and the many additional controls imposed on US companies that are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

“Today’s announcement by Satyam reminds us all of the importance to our customers, employees and shareholders of maintaining the highest ethical standards in business,” Mr Coburn said.