Auditor named in Hindenburg report resigns from Adani Total Gas

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The auditor named in the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group, Shah Dhandharia & Co, has resigned as the statutory auditor of Adani Total Gas citing “professional pre-occupation” as the reason. The resignation came under a year since it was appointed by the company on July 26, 2022, for a term of five years. Shah Dhandharia & Co is also the auditor of the flagship company of the group, Adani Enterprises.

A small Ahmedabad-based chartered accountancy firm, whose appointment was questioned by a US short seller in its scathing report against the conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, has resigned due to ”pre-occupation”..this was stated by Adani Total Gas on Wednesday. Although, in the letter from the auditor, it said that it was given a second term of five years on July 26, 2022, and has completed the audit of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

Hindenburg Research had in its January 24 report on the Adani Group also raised the issue of the size and capability of the firms auditing the Adani Group.

“The audit partners at Shah Dhandharia who respectively signed off on Adani Enterprises and Adani Total Gas’ annual audits were as young as 24 and 23 years old when they began approving the audits. They were essentially fresh out of school, hardly in a position to scrutinise and hold to account the financials of some of the largest companies in the country, run by one of its most powerful individuals,” it said.

In more news, shares of Adani group’s flagship entity, Adani Enterprises surged nearly 2 percent in Thursday’s trade, ahead of the announcement of the company’s March quarter results and dividend, if any. The firm will announce its fourth quarter results amid an ongoing investigations by Sebi following a damning report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.