The apex chartered accountants body Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has said that the investigations on Rs 7,000-crore Satyam Computer fraud will be sealed in six months after the role of the two internal auditors in perpetrating the scam is proved.

The ICAI president Uttam Prakash Agarwal said that the final verdict by the institutes disciplinary committee will be ready in six months. Apart from that the high-powered committee constituted by the regulator will include matters related to corporate governance, appointment of internal auditors and the role independent directors, among others. The high-powered committee was set up by the regulator after the Satyam scam came to light.

Meanwhile, the committee will also submit the report to the government on July 9 with details about the Satyam scam. Besides, it will also review the shortcomings and suggest ways of plugging loopholes against such frauds.
The recommendations, once approved by the corporate affairs ministry, will set the tone for the regulator taking any disciplinary action against auditors, who fudge and manipulate companys accounts henceforth.

The committee will also make case for ICAI and the ICAI Act to be additionally empowered to deal with corporate frauds, said Mr Agarwal. He was here to inaugurate the ICAI centre of excellence.

The ICAI is speeding up investigation in other cases which includes the Global Trust Bank (GTB) case. Its disciplinary committee, headed by Uttam Prakash Agarwal had also submitted its report on PW auditor S Gopalakrishna in the case relating to GTB in March.