Revolut CFO quits for ‘personal reasons’ weeks after auditor BDO warning on accounts
he CFO of Revolut has quit the firm just weeks after its auditor said it was unable to independently verify three-quarters of the revenue in the company’s 2021 accounts.
Mikko Salovaara, who was first appointed CFO in April 2021, said he was leaving the London fintech for personal reasons.
In a statement he said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as group CFO at Revolut and remain confident in the firm’s future successes.”
Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky said: “I thank Mikko for his contribution and wish him well on his next steps.”
In March, the fintech’s auditor, BDO, warned some information on its accounts may be “materially misstated” and said it could not provide assurance over £477 million of the firm’s revenue, adding that its “IT systems weren’t designed in such a way that would allow for IT or business process controls to be effectively tested throughout the year.”
A Revolut spokesperson said the bank’s overall revenue figure “was not in question” and BDO’s concerns were “remedied in 2021.”
Revolut’s accounts were published two months after the statutory filing deadline. Salovaara told Reuters the delay was because “our accounting systems needed replacement.”
“There is not any doubt over the completeness of the balance sheet, which, in turn, logically means that total revenue is also correct,” he said.
It comes amid a challenging period for one of London’s biggest tech firms as it wrestles with regulators to secure a UK banking license.
In March, Salovaara said Revolut was “really near the very final stages”
Currently, the company only has a license in Lithuania but could soon reach a scale that causes it to fall under the aegis of the European Central Bank.
Last month, investor Schroders said it had written down its stake in the business by as much as 46%, wiping some $15 billion off its estimated value.
The Canary Wharf-based firm, which offers debit cards and crypto services to its 27 million customers, posted revenues of £636 million for the year to end-December 2021, while net profits topped £26 million, turning around a loss of £223 million the year before.