Crypto-friendly fintech Revolut has reportedly encountered some issues with its recently released annual report for the year ending December 2021.
Revolut, a neo-British-Lithuanian bank that lets clients buy and sell cryptocurrencies, reported its first-ever full-year profit on March 1, 2023. The company said it would generate £636 million ($769 million) in revenue in 2021, a sharp increase from 220 million pounds ($266 million) in 2020. The financial reports, which were reviewed by independent auditors from global accounting network BDO, confirmed that Revolut's financial statements provided "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 "except for the possible effect of the matters stated in the basis of the qualification part".
In the opinion section, BDO argued that the accounting firm was unable to obtain sufficient information relating to the "completeness and occurrence of certain revenues" in 2021, stating: "We have concluded that, by the same token, other information may be materially misstatement if it relates to income or related balances." Revolut has reportedly responded to BDO's remarks by standing by the validity of its annual report. The British "Financial Times" reported on March 30 that Revolut issued a public statement and hired lawyers in March to prove that BDO had "misreported" the audit opinion. The company argued that the $769 million in revenue had been "independently verified" and "was not in question."
The public statement was apparently withdrawn by Revolut after some board members reportedly thought it was an "overreaction" and showed a lack of understanding of the implications of BDO's comments, according to the Financial Times, citing sources.
The statement was "written by someone who may not fully understand the nuances of the audit opinion," one source said. It also contained "inaccuracies," another source said. The source also said that Revolut's true revenue could be higher or lower than reported because some deals could be missing.
