India's Coforge audit finds ex-chairman kept low rating from board

Coforge

10/09/2026 23:45

Sept 10 (Reuters) - IT services firm Coforge COFO.NS said on Thursday that Om Prakash Bhatt, who resigned as chairman earlier this week, withheld from the board a finding that he received a low rating in a board evaluation report.
Bhatt, a veteran banker who chaired State Bank of India from 2006 to 2011, resigned from Coforge's board on September 8 after an internal audit raised concerns over the handling and presentation of the board evaluation report - which assesses the performance of the board and its members.
The news had sent shares of the company down nearly 9% on Wednesday.
Coforge, detailing the findings of the audit in Thursday's statement, said that reports on the board evaluation were made available to Bhatt and the chair of the nomination and remuneration committee (NRC), but not to other members of the board, on Bhatt's instruction.
The manner in which the reports were presented to the board by Bhatt and the NRC chair "did not cover all relevant aspects and findings," Coforge said, adding that a finding that the chairman's category in the evaluation received the lowest rating was not disclosed or discussed with the board.
Bhatt could not be immediately reached for comment. In his resignation letter disclosed by Coforge to stock exchanges on Wednesday, Bhatt said he had acted in good faith.
Coforge added that the internal audit remains ongoing. It named independent director Vivek Sharma as interim chairman until January 31, 2027.

 (Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
 ((Preetika.Parashuraman@thomsonreuters.com;))