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Embattled engineer John Wood Group’s chief financial officer has stepped down with immediate effect after he admitted to misstating his professional qualifications. 

The UK-listed company, whose share price has collapsed in the past week, said its board had accepted Arvind Balan’s resignation in a statement published on the stock exchange, hours after being questioned by the Financial Times about his qualifications.   

The company said Balan had given an “incorrect description of his professional qualifications in various statements in the public domain”.

Balan said: “Regrettably, I made an honest oversight with respect to the description of my professional qualification as a chartered accountant instead of a certified practicing [sic] accountant.

“I continue to believe in the long-term potential of the company and its people. My decision is based on minimising distraction at this very pivotal time with our investors and lenders.”

The company’s share price has plummeted 64 per cent in the past week after it reported on Friday that there were “material” weaknesses in its governance and said its fourth-quarter trading performance was worse than expected.

This is a developing story.