A case study of Satyam : learning the lessons behind India's biggest scandal

On 7th January 2009, Chairman of Satyam, Ramalinga Raju resigned after admitting to the board of directors that he had committed financial reporting fraud. Satyam’s balance sheet had overstated accrued interest, cash, bank balances and understated liabilities. The fraud had been committed over several years, creating a marginal gap between actual financial results and the reported financial statements in the initial years. Over time however the gap grew larger as the company’s operations expanded. At the time of writing, investigations into the fraud are still pending.BUSINES