HIGHLIGHTS-Media conference of new Satyam board

HYDERABAD, India Jan 12 (Reuters) - The new board of Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer (SATY.BO) SAY.N, which has been hit by a financial scandal, spoke to the media in the southern city of Hyderabad on Monday after their first meeting.

The government dissolved Satyam's board and installed a new three-man board on Sunday as it rushed to contain a fallout from India's biggest corporate scandal, after its founder last week revealed massive accounting fraud and quit.

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Following are comments by the new board members: Deepak Parekh, chairman of top mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.BO); Kiran Karnik, former president of technology industry group National Association of Software and Service Companies; and C. Achutan, a former official at regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Unless noted, the following comments are by Parekh.

THE BOARD'S PRIORITY

"The top priority of the board is to restore confidence of the customers, employees, suppliers and the investors by ensuring business continuity."

"Given the enormity of the issue and the urgent attention required, the board will meet frequently for the next few months."

"We'd like to assure Satyam's customers that our immediate priority is to ensure sustainability of service with minimal disruptions."

GETTING COMPANY BACK ON TRACK

"It depends on how soon we get a CEO, it depends on how soon we get a good financial manager and it depends on how soon we get the accounts restated. Because account restatement is according to us one of the biggest issues we have, because no one has faith in the numbers that are being produced so far."

MERGER OPTION

"The option of a merger is always open."

ON LIQUIDITY

"The working capital issues requires immediate attention and we will work with the team to tide over this situation.

"We have not yet determined the amount of liquidity that is needed to tide over the present situation. We are still analysing this and the new independent accountant we appoint shortly will restate the numbers and will confirm the veracity of those numbers. Once we get that we can then find out the shortage, if any."

"The receivables are large and if the receivables comes at some stage in the next 60-90 days, then the liquidity the company has is adequate. Because the debt against the receivables is minimal. But we have to confirm these receivables are the right numbers and are not overstated. And we have to confirm that the debt mentioned in the account is the actual debt and there is no more debt."

FINANCIAL RESTATEMENT

"Now we are trying to get that done in speedier way but, if you have to go through four, five years of accounts and you have to go through different quarterly accounts, it is going to take time by the auditors, by the independent firms of accountants." "Unless the accounts are restated, the outlook of Satyam can not be the same because people are doubting the numbers. No one knows that these numbers are correct or not because now there is a doubt in everyone's mind, including ours."

NEW MANAGEMENT

"We need to appoint a CEO and we need to appoint a CFO. These are senior appointments, we don't have candidates in mind. We have to be aggressive. Even if they are available, no one is willing to join in 24 hours."

KARNIK: "I am not mentioning names now, It is too early to look at what kind of names. It has been a great company, I think you will look for a CEO who will take it to greater heights. There are good people around, it is not easy to get them from where they are. It is a big challenge, there are difficulties. So we will be hopeful that over the next few days, weeks we can try and find somebody, maybe persuade them to come and then put them in place as soon as possible."

ACHUTAN: "Of course there should be a proper CEO, a proper CFO, but they cannot be produced out of the pocket in 24 hours. We are looking for the proper people to man this key post."

NEW AUDITORS

"On the auditors, we can't reveal the name right now. We have talked to two firms and we are getting their proposals tomorrow. After which we will appoint them to look and to restate the accounts."

BOARD EXPANSION

"The board is decided by the company affairs ministry... and it is their prerogative whom they put on the board. So, we are waiting for the government to nominate few more members, but we don't know who these members are going to be. (Compiled by Narayanan Somasundaram & Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by John Mair)