Gautam Adani's Adani Ports confirms Deloitte resignation; appoints MSKA & Associates

Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has confirmed the resignation of UK-based accounting giant Deloitte and has announced the appointment of MSKA & Associates as its new statutory auditor. 

Deloitte's Departure: A Mutual Decision?

Adani Ports clarified that the decision for Deloitte's exit was mutually agreed upon. Deloitte, in its resignation letter, mentioned, "As discussed, we are tendering our resignation as statutory auditors of the company with immediate effect, as we are not statutory auditors of a substantial number of other Adani Group companies." The audit committee of Adani Ports' board emphasized that there were no other reasons for Deloitte's resignation, apart from those specified in the letter.

Gopal Krishna Pillai, the chairman of the audit committee at APSEZ, shed light on the matter, stating, "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."

According to a Reuters report, Another reason for Deloitte's resignation was concerns over certain related party transactions flagged in a report by U.S. short seller Hindenburg in January, but Adani did not wish to look into them independently.

A Look Back

Deloitte had been serving as the statutory auditor for APSEZ since 2017. In July of the previous year, the board had reappointed Deloitte for another five-year term. However, during a recent meeting between Deloitte and APSEZ's management and audit committee, the former expressed its desire for a broader audit role across other listed Adani portfolio companies.

The audit committee felt that the reasons Deloitte provided for its resignation were neither convincing nor sufficient. Pillai added, "It was also conveyed that it is not within the remit of APSEZ and its board to recommend group-wide appointments."

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