Shambhavi Thakur
Renting Ferraris in Monaco, purchasing Rolex watches using company funds, and âchangingâ TRPs to get âdesired outcomesâ. These are just some of the unscrupulous practices followed by top former executives of the Broadcast Research Audience Council, according to a forensic audit of its operations.
The audit was done by Acquisory Risk Consulting Pvt Ltd, or ARCPL, a Mumbai-based risk management consultancy after it was approached by the BARC board and management last March. The board had decided to audit and review its records after receiving multiple complaints about alleged malpractices, including inaccuracy in its ratings process for TV channels and the concentration of power in its former senior management. The board included BARC chairman Punit Goenka.