EKI Energy Services Limited’s board has approved the removal of Walker Chandiok & Co as statutory auditors, the carbon credits and sustainability solutions company has told BSE. The move comes after the auditor flagged concerns over the company’s financial statements.EKI Energy’s board of directors convened a meeting on July 5 to decide on the removal of the auditor and the approval was given on July 13, the company said in a letter to BSE on July 15.“It has also been decided to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the company on Monday, August 14, 2023, for seeking approval of the members on the matter stated above, subject to approval of the central government,” the company said.The auditors said in its report attached to the financial result for the third quarter and nine-month period ended December 2022 that the recognition of revenues and the corresponding costs were not consistent with accounting principles.EKI Energy chairman and managing director Manish Dabkara told Moneycontrol on July 13 that the company would not restate results of Q3FY23.Commenting on the discrepancies highlighted by the auditors, Dabkara said the matter pertained to recognition of revenue for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for manufacturing of energy-efficient cook stoves.The company had received money from the customer for the contract but, according to the auditor, revenue cannot be booked until the registration and verification process for the order was completed, he said.Dabkara said the company was revising the terms of customer contracts to avoid such discrepancies. It had started issuing different contracts, one for manufacturing and distribution and another for registration and verification, he said.EKI Energy is yet to release the results of the fourth quarter of the financial year 2022-23 due to audit delays.Dabkara told Moneycontrol that he expected the auditing process to be completed soon.EKI Energy had not received any communication from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The concerns raised by auditors had not affected the technical or business capabilities of the company, he claimed.Founded by Dabkara, the company listed on the SME platform of the BSE in April 2021 at Rs 140 apiece and climbed to Rs 3,114 in January 2022, driven by investor interest in the carbon-credit market.The scrip, however, tanked after the auditor’s report and plunged to a 52-week low of Rs 355 on BSE on May 30.On July 14, the stock closed at Rs 462 on BSE, down 1.41 percent from the previous day.

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