Adani Ports appoints MSKA & Associates as new auditor After Deloitte resigns

Ahmedabad(India), 13/08/23: MSKA & Associates Chartered Accountants has been named as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ)’s new auditor. The decision follows the resignation of Deloitte, the company’s previous statutory auditor.

GK Pillai, Chairman of APSEZ’s Audit Committee, remarked, “The Audit Committee/Board is pleased to appoint M/s. M S K A & Associates, a member firm of BDO International, a Top 6 global audit firm, as APSEZ’s auditor.”

Deloitte has been APSEZ’s statutory auditor since May 2017, and its contract had been renewed for another five years until July 2022. A recent discussion between Deloitte, APSEZ management, and the Audit Committee, on the other hand, revealed the auditor’s demand for a broader audit role that includes other listed Adani portfolio firms.

The Audit Committee, which is made up entirely of independent directors such as G. K. Pillai, Prof. G. Raghuram, P. S. Jayakumar, and Nirupama Rao, judged Deloitte’s reasons for resigning unsatisfactory, especially given that other Adani portfolio firms operate independently.

Deloitte’s refusal to remain as APSEZ’s statutory auditor resulted in the mutual agreement to end the client-auditor relationship. It was established that the influence of APSEZ and its Board did not extend to recommending group-wide appointments for other listed Adani portfolio companies.

In response to Deloitte’s concerns, Gopal Krishna Pillai, Chairman of the Audit Committee, stated, “It is important to mention that, in response to a query by the Audit Committee, Deloitte confirmed that they have received all the APSEZ information from the management of the Company. The same has been confirmed by Deloitte in their resignation letter dated August 12, 2023, to the Company.”

The “Other Matters” mentioned in Deloitte’s resignation are supposedly appropriately disclosed and handled in APSEZ’s fiscal statements for FY23. The business is confident that these issues will be addressed effectively in the upcoming September ’23 filing.