Many new issues before Satyam board-THE HINDU------------------
HYDERABAD: The expanded Board of Directors of the fraud-struck Satyam Computer Services will meet here on Saturday to provide some more clarity on the issues with which the IT behemoth is battling.
The selection of a Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer are likely to be on top of the agenda, besides financial issues such as finding money to pay January salaries to offshore (those working outside the clients’ locations) employees.
Key task
A key task before the board is to give a direction to the company by interacting with members of the 42-strong leadership council, heads of various verticals who have helped steer the meteoric rise of the company.
Board member C. Achutan has stayed put in the city since the first board meeting on January 10 and is meeting the top executive every day.
HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, after meeting Union Minister for Company Affairs P. C. Gupta, said that the company had receivables to the tune of Rs. 1,700-odd-crore which would be sufficient for the company to run the show for three more months.
This apart, it would provide the necessary liquidity for servicing other expenditure.
The board may take a view on the running of the company in the wake of Union Government announcing that it wasn’t considering a bailout package, but wouldn’t mind extending financial assistance in the form of loan.
ICAI’s objection
Some banks, including State Bank of India, too are expected to step in to extend the loans considering the receivables position.
Employees are awaiting a positive announcement from the board on Saturday about their salaries.
The board may also consider the objection raised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to KPMG taking up restatement of accounts of the company, for the latter did not have licence in India to do so.
But to prevail upon the international customers, from where the maximum business comes for the company, it was inevitable for Satyam Computer to have the accounts restated by global auditing firms.
Finding solutions
Meanwhile, Tarun Das, Chief Mentor of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said: “I have accepted the request to serve on the Government-nominated board of Satyam in a spirit of public service, to work in partnership with my fellow members of the board.
“Our collective endeavour is to help find solutions to extremely difficult challenges facing the company and the priority is, as other board members have said, to safeguard the interest of employees, customers and investors.”
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