AFF's decision to retract its report and to dismiss Y. M. Kale only deepened the
controversy swirling around the Tata Finance accounting fraud. A senior member of
one of lndia’s other large accounting firms suggested that Kale was being made the
“scapegoat” in the unseemly affair and that the Tata organization was responsible
for his dismissal.“ The lndian business press also repeatedly implied that Kale had
been fired as a result of pressure applied on AFF by the Tata Group. These media
reports pointed out that the Tata Group had significant leverage on AFF because the
accounting firm audited several of the largest Tata companies and because the close
affiliation with the Tata organization enhanced AFF‘s stature and prestige within ln-
dia's accounting profession.