What to Expect from Satyam’s Board…
As
Satyam board is meeting today (Jan. 17) to decide on the future course
of action, it’s going to be a tightrope walk for the
government-appointed directors mainly because they hardly have any
exposure in the infotech markets. However, they can’t afford delays
and will have to take some quick decisions.
The
meeting of the six-member board of directors of the fraud-hit Satyam
Computers Services was scheduled for today. While eyes are on the
outcome, the government’s “wise men” are expected to take some crucial
decisions.
Their
priority is supposed to be the employees’ welfare. In the absence of
adequate funds with the company, they need to clearly inform the
employees about their future instead of keeping the issue in perpetual
uncertainty.
They’d also have to think of a strategy to at least retain some of the
big customers because it’ll be extremely difficult for Satyam to move
even an inch without business revenues. The orthodox methods of
raising funds – like through existing assets or government money – are
not going to work. Rather, that money will also be wasted if there’s
no assurance on business continuity.
The
situation is going to be quite intricate because if Satyam is not able
to meet the specified requirements of SLAs (service level agreements),
customers won’t be willing to continue business with it. There may
even be some penalty clauses that will add to the company’s persisting
trouble.
It’s
likely that the board will postpone some of the major decisions till
the time new CEO and CFO are appointed. Considering the current
controversial status of the company, it’s presumed that the board
would like to pass on the responsibility to the future top executives.
So it’s probable that the board members will keep the appointment of
full-time top executives as priority No. 1.
But
the margin of error is thin indeed for all those trying to bring
Satyam back on track. A toe out of line can further jeopardize the
whole situation.
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