Infosys hires PwC to probe whistleblower allegations
IT major Infosys, which is currently in the middle of a storm due to allegations by whistleblowers, has hired auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to probe the allegations, according to Economic Times.
This comes after the company hired law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM). Its internal auditor Ernst and Young will also probe its revenue recognition practices.
According to ET, the decision to hire PwC came after the board decided to carry out an investigation independent of E&Y and Shardul Amarchand for a fresh set of eyes to take a look.
A few anonymous employees at Infosys had accused the CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices from many quarters, along with concerns on Parekh's travels to the US and Mumbai.
According to the whistleblowers, who named themselves ‘Ethical Employees’, Parekh directed the employees to cook account books to show favourable numbers and coerced staffers not to reveal crucial data to board members.
Chairman Nandan Nilekani had said informed that one Board member received two anonymous complaints on September 30, 2019. One of them was dated September 20, 2019, and a second one was undated.
On Wednesday, a report alleged that one of the co-founders and a former senior executive were in cahoots with the employees, which the organisation denied and condemned.
Chairman Nandan Nilekani said that the speculations seemed to be aimed at tarnishing the image of respected individuals.
"I have deep regard for the life-long contribution of all our co-founders. They have built this institution and have served this company selflessly and even today, remain committed to the long-term success of Infosys,” he stated.
In a filing with the stock exchanges on November 2, Infosys said that there were not given any evidence to back up the allegations. “With respect to the Anonymous Complaints, there is no prima facie evidence that the Company has received until date to corroborate any of the allegations made. In any event, the Audit Committee retained the services of the law firm, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. to investigate the matter,” Infosys said in its filing.
Infosys also cited the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and said that unless an event or any information is deemed to be “'material' that is under the LODR Regulations, it had no obligation to disclose the same under Regulation 30 of the LODR Regulations.
Infosys said that the stock exchanges would be updated on the findings of the investigation.