In late October, Indian software services exporter Infosys said it received whistleblower complaints alleging "unethical practices" by its executives. An anonymous group sent letters to the board and the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company was taking "unethical" steps to boost short-term revenue and profit.

Now, speaking for the first time to the media after the incident, the company management has defended its whistleblower policy calling it "best-in-class" and clarified that the current investigation has not impacted day to day business.

Infosys COO UB Pravin Rao, in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18 has said that investigation pertaining to the whistleblower complaint is on-going and that the management has talked to customers and analysts to assure them on how the company was dealing with the issue.

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"It is business as usual at Infosys," Rao said when asked about the impact on the company from the ongoing controversy.

A whistleblower complaint alleged that the Infosys CEO and CFO had made attempts to not recognise the reversal of $50 million on FDR contracts to avoid a reduction in profits, and had also kept several financial matters from the board.

Chairman Nandan Nilekani defended the management earlier this month and had said "even God cannot change the numbers of this company" as "the company has very strong processes."

Rao told CNBC-TV18 that the management has talked to all stakeholders at the beginning of the controversy.

"We talked to all the stakeholders in the early days (of the investigation), and assured them on the steps we are taking. We talked to clients and industry analysts," he said. "It's unfortunate, but work is going on," Rao added.

"The whistleblower policy (at Infosys) is transparent, best in class," Rao defended. Infosys' audit committee is currently carrying on an investigation along with Ernst & Young, and has also retained the law firm of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas to conduct an independent investigation.

Infosys is hoping to conclude its investigation into the whistleblower complaint against CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy by December or January, Moneycontrol reported last week.

On recent reports that Infosys was set to lay off thousands of its employees, Rao said that there was no structured layoff at Infosys and that the layoffs were part of the performance cycle.

"Every year, a performance cycle is done. We put people on performance improvement programme and those who do not deliver are let go," he said.

"Involuntary attrition was not broken out in the past, but it has been integral to what we have been doing," he added.

First Published:Nov 18, 2019 5:53 PM IST