PwC Malaysia's Public Relation and Media Bungle.

Sridharan Nair of PwC, spoke about the re-branding, even though the low key unveiling was done by Chin Kwai Fatt

On the 4th of August, 2010, Ms Loh Lay Choon raised some concerns on the Audit Oversight Board mandate, as reported here.

"PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia partner Loh Lay Choon, who presented some comments on the implications of the AOB’s mandate, said costs billed to clients would almost certainly rise as audit firms that qualified to audit public interest entities were held to higher standards.

“To what extent do the specifics at the engagement level get shared?” she asked, adding that the issue of confidentiality needed to be ironed out. The AOB commenced inspections of audit firms this month."

Ms Loh Lay Choon, why did you neglect to question En Nik Mohd Hasyudeen Yusoff, the Chairman of the AOB, on the miraculous registration of PricewaterhouseCoopers by the AOB on its very first day of operations?

If you are so concerned about the AOB affecting the way the auditing 'business' is done, then you could have pulled the carpet from under Nik Hasyudeen by pointing out that the registration the board had approved on the very same day the board members themselves were announced, is a physical and legal impossibility.

You could have asked him questions on why a director of PwC Malaysia was appointed as the Director for the AOB, and how the AOB managed to collect the fees for registration on the 1st of April when the law to collect the fees was only signed by the 2nd Finance Minister on the 13th of April?

You could have asked him on how much of a role did Chin Kwai Fatt play in the choice of people in the AOB?

There were so many questions you could have raised to protect the "PwC Way", but you didn't did you?

Ms Loh Lay Choon, seated second from left.

Ms Loh Lay Choon, then you have to be the Alternate Chairman of the committee that announces the National Annual Corporate Report Awards, when your own MD Mr Chin Kwai Fatt has been signing false declarations for the annual report of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Sdn Bhd (464379-U). Did you think that the Malaysian Public can be fooled so easily?

Mr Sridharan, you sent out a statement about PwC's new logo. Did you also send out a statement on why your firm's Senior Partners chose to appoint 'sham Directors' who had absolutely nothing to do with PwC's consulting business for the firm renamed as PwC Consulting Sdn Bhd (289801-A), which was then disposed of to IBM Corp as if it was the real consulting arm of PwC Malaysia?

Did you send out a statement on why the continued control of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Sdn Bhd (464379-U) by Chin Kwai Fatt & Co to defraud its creditors is not wrong in any way shape or form? Did you explain why there is no conflict of interest when PwC does the audits for IBM in Malaysia even though your firm's Senior Partners are technically directors of a company that was sold to IBM 9 years ago?

Ms Ng Yin Ching, did you take the responsibility to explain the questions surrounding PwC when you spoke about Corporate Responsibility to the media?

Ms Ng Yin Ching, did you think no one would notice that the Chairman for the Institute of Corporate Responsibility as well as PwC Malaysia, Dato' Johan Raslan, was conspicuously absent from this year's awards? Did you think that the Malaysian Public will accept whatever is said by anyone representing PwC on matters that involve words like Responsibility and Ethics when none of the spokespersons dare to face the public and answer the many allegations against the bosses in PwC Malaysia?

PwC Malaysia must understand that this Public Relation exercise of trying to show normalcy and 'business as usual' to the general public just makes the entire firm look like it practices hypocrisy and not accountancy.

Do the right thing. Stop the ongoing fraud involving your firm and bring to book the people involved. Don't  think that the slight posturing you are attempting by dishing out awards and talking about anything other than the fraud and corrupt practices involving your Senior Partners, with the Media and other organizations is going to save your firms' reputation.