PwC faces two-year audit ban in India

PwC is facing a two-year ban from auditing listed companies in India, following a probe by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) into the 2009 accounting scandal at one of the firm’s clients, Satyam Computer Services, which became known as ‘India’s Enron’.

At the beginning of 2009 Satyam’s chairman resigned, confessing he had been involved in manipulating the accounts at the company to overstate profits by many millions of pounds.

Subsequent investigations saw PwC fined $6m (£4.45m) by the US Securities and Exchanges Commission and $1.5m by the Public Accounting Oversight Board for audit failures.

Now SEBI has ordered Price Waterhouse Bangalore and two former partners to repay ‘wrongful gains’ of Rs13,09,01,664 (£1.5m) with interest calculated at the rate of 12% per annum from 7 January  2009 till the date of payment. The order also states that any entities or firms practicing as chartered accountants in India under the brand and banner of Price Waterhouse, shall not directly or indirectly issue any certificate of audit of listed companies, or their intermediaries that are registered with the regulator for a period of two years.

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