The case of Motherson Sumi’s unaudited subsidiaries

The Morning Context

Business

A mismatch between what the auditor and the company list is leading to a difference in unaudited income.

Varun Sood

15 July 2020

UNLOCK NOW!

At first, it looked all wrong.

How could there be chinks in the story of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd, one of the world’s largest makers of wiring harnesses and mirrors for passenger cars, and which has been hailed as a shining success story of corporate India? How could the auditor, one of the Big Four, not flag a misrepresented revenue figure on the company’s website? How is it that both the media and analysts who pore over the fine print largely take the company’s spectacular performance at face value?

However, multiple checks that we made over the last fortnight suggest that the real story of Motherson Sumi has remained untold, until now.

In the auto components industry, the company is an outlier. Even as much of its domestic rivals struggled to grow with the local automotive industry, Motherson Sumi built an export-led business by making a string of global acquisitions. Its revenue for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2020 stood at Rs 63,536.87 crore,

What our readers say

Why subscribers love The Morning Context

High quality, independent journalism is rare to find. The Morning Context set really high standards that make me wait for each story.

Abhay Pandey, Managing partner, A91 Capital

Well-written and researched long form reads on a wide variety of topics and a team of veteran journalists - all of this makes my subscription worth it.

Anupam Gupta, Investment research consultant

In today's very noisy and cluttered world, I like that the Morning Context goes below the surface of company PR to deliver fact-based stories on Indian business.

Jessie Paul, CEO, Paul Writer

The Morning Context is my daily opportunity to get smarter about one new company/sector. Discerning analysis, unbiased and approachable.

Miten Sampat, Angel investor & former CSO, Times Internet

In today's polarized world, authentic and unbiased facts are in short supply world over. The Morning Context is a refreshing approach towards truthful, well researched, fearless, and high-quality articles on contemporary topics.

N S Parthasarthy, Co-founder, Mindtree

As one of the early subscribers, I've had the opportunity to witness how quickly the team has grown, the variety of angles covered, and the research in every in-depth story and op-ed.

Amarjit Batra, Managing director, Spotify India

In a world full of noise, The Morning Context is the calm that stimulates and energises your mind, with stories focused on fact, truth and dogged reportage.

Nikhil Taneja, Co-founder and CEO, Yuvaa

Although it’s a paid subscription, the kind of detailed research and quality of reportage makes it worth every rupee. It’s strength surely lies in having some of the finest journalists writing for it.

Shiladitya Bora, Producer, distributor and founder at Platoon One Films

Become a TMC member