Revolut’s board frustrated by its audit response: Financial Times

Revolut, the UK-based digital bank, has irked its own board over the way it handled reports that auditor BDO was unable to verify a significant part of its 2021 revenues.

Revolut’s long-delayed accounts showed the startup achieved its first full-year of profit in 2021, but BDO cast some doubt on the numbers. Specifically, it said in the accounts that it was unable to verify three-quarters of the revenue Revolut had reported — equal to $765 million — and warned that some information may be “materially misstated.”

Then, Revolut issued a public statement insisting that BDO had confirmed the “financial statements give a true and fair view” of its finances, and hired Schillings, the lawyers, to ram the point home, according to a report today from the Financial Times.

That report also said that some of Revolut’s board members — which include city grandees Martin Gilbert and Michael Sherwood — felt the startup's statement was an “overreaction” and suggests staff had failed to understand BDO’s opinion properly.

Crypto trading is a significant business line for Revolut, and the startup capitalized on a boom in retail trading in 2021.

Revolut did not immediately respond to a request for comment.