PwC uses own team to independently investigate self

Have you heard anything more ludicrous than this coming out of India following the Satyam scandal?

Pricewaterhousecoopers (PwC) plans to bring in partners from its international affiliates to do an independent audit of its clients in India, besides what is being done by its Indian partners.

Duh? Do they think the rest of us are stupid or something? If they want to do ‘independent’ then why not wheel in KPMG, Ernst Young or Deloitte? Perhaps they don’t want the rest of us to know just how poorly governed their Indian operation really is. Or maybe they’re polishing their navel gazing skills. Who knows? But it gets better.

The move is aimed at preserving its position in the high-stakes India market, its fastest-growing globally, and a key one for rivals such as Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG.

“We want to convince our stakeholders that the processes at PwC are of the highest quality,” PwC Global CEO Samuel DiPiazza

OK – so now PwC IS A global outfit and not just a rag bag of interconnected local businesses. That makes the independent claim even more egregious. Right? UPDATE: even better:

“For our clients, stakeholders, regulators and to protect our integrity, we have done an extensive review of our processes globally. We are looking at our own standards to see if there need to be some changes. We are not taking this lightly,” said DiPiazza.

…as he rolled out the ‘we were duped’ defense. And then the piece de resistance:

As for his message to his successor, Dennis M Nally, after DiPiazza retires later this year, after a 35-years with the firm, he said: “One of the key things I have learned as the CEO of a truly global organisation is that in order to understand the markets that we operate in, you must travel there and understand the culture, understand the people and understand the needs of our clients.”

It seems to me your view on PwC depends on which part of the PR you want to believe…this week…as opposed to say…last week. Wonder what will happen next week?

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• PwC partners deny criminal activity over Satyam audit (accountancyage.com)

Tagged as: Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Samuel DiPiazza, Satyam