Revolut called a qualified audit opinion a clean bill of health — its board was furious

Revolut issued a public statement and hired lawyers to insist that auditors BDO had 'confirmed that the financial statements give a true and fair view' of the company's affairs. In fact, BDO's long-overdue 2021 accounts — published five months late and two months past an extended deadline — carried a qualified opinion warning that revenues 'may be materially misstated', giving a true and fair view 'except for' the matters described in the basis for qualified opinion.

Those matters were substantial: shortcomings in the fintech's IT controls, and BDO's inability to satisfy itself of the 'completeness and occurrence' of revenues in three business divisions totalling £477 million — 75 per cent of the group's reported 2021 revenue. LSE accounting professor Michael Power called Revolut's statement 'bizarre': 'They neglect to mention the except-for rider to that opinion.' A senior audit partner at another firm called it 'very inflammatory and ... just wrong', arguing BDO should demand a correction or resign.

The company also criticised 'misreporting' of the opinion in the media and claimed all £636 million of revenues had been 'independently verified'. According to two people with knowledge, board members saw the statement as an overreaction written by people who didn't understand audit nuance, with 'inaccuracies'; the press and legal departments were instructed not to take similar actions without consultation. Revolut's lawyers, Schillings, had written twice to the FT demanding changes to its report, making similar claims.

The public statement framed a qualified opinion — a red flag on 75% of revenue — as an unqualified endorsement, omitting the 'except for' rider.

The board was bypassed: departments acted without consultation and were later reined in, showing a governance gap just as Revolut sought a UK banking licence.

Legal threats to the press compounded the error, attacking the messengers rather than fixing the controls the auditor had flagged.

A qualified opinion is not a footnote you can spin away: misdescribing an auditor's finding converts a controls problem into an integrity problem.

The board, chaired by City veteran Martin Gilbert and including former Goldman Sachs banker Michael Sherwood and ex-Deloitte partner Caroline Britton, was already under pressure to improve Revolut's culture and governance ahead of its banking-licence application; the episode added accounting-industry incredulity to that list.