The "Satyam" fact file!

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: Probably for the first time after the Rs 7800 crore fraud in the company saw the light on January 7, 2009 -- thanks to the admission by the founder B Ramalinga Raju himself -- Satyam Computers Limited has come out with certain “facts” related to its operations and the controversies surrounding it.
The marketing and communications division of Satyam Computers has brought out a news letter entitled "NewsToday" to "counter the unfortunate reality" vis-à-vis the media coverage of events related to the software giant following its ex-chairman B Ramalinga Raju's admission of a massive Rs 7800 crore fraud on January 7.
NewsToday is meant to be an in-house publication for the Satyam 'associates' and the first issue of it was published on January 29.
"The objective of NewsToday is to equip you with the facts to counter media rumours and provide you with correct and full clarifications of developments," Satyam marketing and communications head Hari T said in his note to the 'associates.'
"It has been traumatic, to say the least: we confronted shocking revelations, battled to regain stakeholder confidence, and faced a maelstrom of media scrutiny and speculation, which continues to this day.
Yet, in the face of all these obstacles, we have achieved significant milestones, and we continue with efforts to restore our organization, steadily and step-by-step.
We now have an entirely new Board of Directors, consisting of luminaries renowned for their vision, leadership and expertise, and each with an impeccable reputation for integrity. The board's sense of purpose and urgency is clear: they immediately and decisively addressed several critical issues, including the confirmation of January payroll," Hari noted.
"However, media attention on Satyam – especially in India – continues relentlessly, and rumours abound. Here's why: the media is driven to maximize their audience. They are under pressure to be the "first to report" and provide "new perspectives" via "discussions by informed parties." Discussions of "what-if scenarios" lead to speculation and rumour. Rumours, more often than not, are reported as fact – as Breaking News – in the media," he lamented.
Seeking to highlight certain "significant developments," Hari said Satyam has approached certain financial institutions for funds against its encumbered assets to cover short-term operational expenses. The additional funding requirements were more to meet the outstanding dues accumulated over last few months, he pointed out. "We are quite confident that once these accrued obligations are met, Satyam will continue to remain self-sufficient to meet regular operational expenses on the basis of healthy receivables," he added.
Stating that customers continued to display a show of faith in Satyam, the marketing head informed that in the last two weeks the company bagged two new significantly large projects with customers in the insurance space, one of which was a Global Top 5 major.
Hari, however, did not specify either the financial institutions that have been approached for funds or the two companies that sourced the new projects to Satyam after the scandal saw the light.
Hari claimed that the prestigious American Society for Training and Development informed Satyam last week that it would honour the company with "Excellence in Practice" recognitions, in as many as six categories for outstanding efforts in training and leadership development.
The six initiatives, he said, were Talent Preparation Service, Enterprise Learning Technologies, Family Learning, Integrated Project Management, Learning Management Review and Re-Skilling Service.
A Satyam team working for a US-based pharmaceutical client donated Rs 90,000 to the Satyam Foundation. The team raised the money through individual contributions. These contributions would go a long way towards providing school transportation for underprivileged children, he pointed out.