Revolut not satisfied with how fintech handles audit red flags: Report

Crypto-friendly fintech Revolut is reportedly having some issues with its recently released annual report for the year ending December 2021.

Revolut, a British-Lithuanian neobank that allows customers to buy and sell crypto, reported its first full-year profit on March 1, 2023. The firm said it generated revenue of 636 million British pounds ($769 million) in 2021, which was a significantly up from £220 million ($266 million) in 2020.

The financial report was reviewed by independent auditors from global accountancy network BDO, who confirmed that Revolut’s financial statements gave a “fair view of the state of affairs of the group and parent company” as at 31 December. The auditors emphasized that the report was correct “apart from the possible effects of the circumstances described in the basis for the section on qualified opinion” in the report.

In the assessment section, BDO argued that the accountancy firm was unable to obtain enough information relating to the “completeness and occurrence of certain income” for 2021, saying:

“We have concluded that where the other information refers to income or related balances, these may be materially misstating for the same reason.”

Revolut is said to have responded to BDO’s remarks and insisted on the validity of the annual report. The Financial Times reported on March 30 that Revolut issued a public statement and hired lawyers in March to prove “misreporting” of the audit opinion by BDO. The company claimed that the revenue of $769 million has been “independently verified” and was “not in doubt”.

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The public statement has apparently since been taken down by Revolut as some board members reportedly felt it was an “overreaction” and showed a lack of understanding of what BDO’s opinion meant, according to sources cited by the FT.

The statement “was written by people who probably didn’t fully understand the nuances of an audit opinion”, one source said. It also contained “inaccuracies”, another source claimed. The sources also claimed that it was possible that Revolut’s true revenue could be either higher or lower than stated in the report because some transactions could be missing.

Revolut declined to comment on the matter to Cointelegraph. The firm also did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request to share the statement on BDO’s opinion section as it appears to have been removed.

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