New Delhi, Aug 12 (UNI) With Deloitte resigning as statutory auditor of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), the Gautam Adani-led business conglomerate has appointed MSKA & Associates as its replacement.
In its resignation letter, Deloitte said that it is quitting because it is not statutory auditors of a substantial number of other Adani group of companies including an Adani Group company after completion of its term of five years.
“The Audit Committee/ Board is pleased to appoint MSKA & Associates (an independent member firm of BDO International, a top 6 global audit firm,) as APSEZ’s auditor,” Adani group said in a statement issued late Saturday evening.
Adani group had hit a major controversy early this year when a US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research claimed that the Indian conglomerate had engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud over the course of decades.
Adani Group dismissed all the allegations terming the report as a malicious combination of selective misinformation. The scathing Hindenburg report had triggered a crash of all Adani group stocks leading to massive erosion of market capitalisation.
As per Adani group, Deloitte in its recent meeting with APSEZ management and Audit Committee indicated a lack of a wider audit role as auditors of other listed Adani portfolio companies. The Audit Committee was of the view that the grounds advanced by Deloitte for resignation as statutory auditor were not convincing or sufficient to warrant such a move. It was also conveyed that it was not within the remit of APSEZ and its Board to recommend group-wide appointments as other listed Adani portfolio companies are completely independent, with separate boards, executive teams and minority shareholders.
“Following this, Deloitte was not willing to continue as APSEZ’s statutory auditor and, therefore, it was agreed to amicably end the client-auditor contractual relationship between APSEZ and Deloitte,” said Adani group statement.
Deloitte had been Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s (APSEZ) statutory auditor since May 2017. In July 2022, APSEZ reappointed Deloitte as its statutory auditor for another term of five years.
