New auditor at MP Birla Co sits at Lodha office

However, it turns out that the new firm operates out of the Lodha & Co office. In fact, the new auditor is a one-man show run by P.L. Sonia, a member of Lodha’s firm.

With Lodha having filed for probate of Priyamvada Birla’s will, and the Birla clan scrambling to remove Lodha’s audit firm from their group companies, Madhya Pradesh-based Birla Ericsson Optical Cables got a new auditor on July 20 at the annual general meeting of its shareholders.

Birla Ericsson, a joint venture of the MP Birla group with Ericsson Cables AB of Sweden, had informed shareholders in a May 5 notice that Lodha & Co is no longer willing to remain as auditors of the company.

According to the notice, Lodha & Co has expressed its ‘‘unwillingness to be re-appointed” as the auditors of the company. Hence, the company had proposed the name of Clark, Gardner, Wolf & Co as the new auditors for the clearance of shareholders at the AGM on July 20 at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.

Fielding enquiries about Clark Gardner, staff at Lodha’s firm said all telephone calls for that company should be made to Lodha & Co. Neither Lodha nor Soni were available for comment.