PwC in the dock over Satyam accounting scam

The accounting scandal that imperils Satyam Computer Services Ltd, embroiled in India's biggest corporate fraud investigation, is raising concerns about oversight of international companies that trade in the US.

Seven years after the implosion of Enron Corp led to the dissolution of accounting firm Arthur Andersen, the Satyam case has put PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the US regulator that oversees auditors in the spotlight. Hyderabad-based Satyam's former chairman, Ramalinga Raju, was arrested last week after saying that he falsified accounts that went undetected for years.

Satyam, the nation's fourth-largest software exporter, is one of 14 Indian companies with a combined value of $63 billion that trade on US exchanges, according to Bloomberg data. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which oversees auditors of US-traded companies, last year examined the Indian arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Satyam's auditor since 2000.