Price Waterhouse (PW) today said there was no "intentional wrongdoing" by its professionals in the USD 1 billion Satyam accounting fraud case.

"Neither of the orders (by US SEC and PCAOB) found that PW India or any of its professionals engaged in any intentional wrongdoing or was otherwise involved in the fraud perpetrated by Satyam management," the auditor said in a statement.

PW India was commenting on the orders of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) which had imposed a penalty of USD 7.5 million on Price Waterhouse, India for deficiency in audit services.

Besides, pursuant to the order, six affiliates of PW India agreed to refrain from accepting any new US-based clients for six months, establish training programmes for its officers and employees on securities laws and accounting principles; institute new pre-opinion review controls; revise its audit policies and procedures; and appoint an independent monitor to ensure these measures are implemented.

"The limitation for six months is only on PW's ability to accept new Indian audit clients which are affiliated with an SEC registrant, where either the Indian subsidiary accounts for 10 per cent or more of the consolidated assets, revenues or expenses or a full scope audit opinion of the Indian affiliate is to be performed," PW clarified.

It added that "the settlements mark the end of the Satyam-related US regulatory enquiries concerning PW India and are a positive step and important milestone in putting the Satyam issue behind PW India".

PW Bangalore was the statutory auditor of Satyam Computer Services when the software firm's founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to committing an accounting fraud (of about Rs 7,000 crore) spread over a period of five years.

Soon after the fraud came to light, the government announced a major change of guard by replacing not only the top brass of the software firm, but also the then statutory auditors. The accounting fraud was later pegged at Rs 14,000 crore by the country's premier investigating agency the CBI.

Satyam was later taken over by Tech Mahindra through a competitive bidding process and the audit for the reinstated accounts of the company was given to another audit firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells.