Deloitte, the auditors of Byju’s, has resigned due to a delay in financial statement filing. The company’s financial statements are long delayed, preventing Deloitte from starting an audit. Three board members of the edtech giant also resigned.
Deloitte, Byju’s auditors, resigned due to a delay in financial statement filing. Three board members also resigned in a worsening crisis at the edtech giant. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which was supposed to audit Byju’s until 2025, resigned with “immediate effect” because “the financial statements of the company are long delayed.”
Deloitte wrote to the board of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (Byju’s) that delays have prevented it from starting an audit, which will “significantly impact” its ability to “plan, design, perform and complete” the audit according to standards. Byju’s said BDO will help “uphold the highest standards of financial scrutiny and accountability” as its new auditor.
GV Ravishankar, MD of early-backer Peak XV Partners (previously Sequoia Capital India), Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus, and Chan Zuckerberg’s Vivian Wu resigned from Byju’s board, sources claimed. Directors resigned for unknown reasons. The original family—CEO Byju Raveendran, wife Divya Gokulnath, and brother Riju—now sits on Byju’s board.
A Byju’s spokeswoman denied media rumors of board resignations. “BYJU’S strongly disputes these claims and encourages media to stop spreading unverified information. Our company makes substantial changes.”
Byju’s delayed a USD 40 million repayment due earlier this month and sued its lenders for harassment in loan recovery. Deloitte Haskins and Sells told Byju’s board that it is resigning as Think & Learn’s auditor three years before the contract’s expiration due to a long delay in the edtech firm’s FY2021-22 financial statement.
The edtech firm also announced that BDO (MSKA & Associates) will be its statutory auditors for five years starting in 2022. Deloitte said it routinely wrote to Byju’s Managing Director Byju Raveendran with a copy to the board of directors but was unable to start the audit, thus it quit.
We can’t comment on the audit yet. Thus, we will struggle to organize, develop, conduct, and conclude the audit in compliance with auditing standards. “We are tendering our resignation as statutory auditors of the company with immediate effect,” Deloitte Haskins & Sells told Byju’s board.
Byju’s auditor is Deloitte. Reappointed for five years on April 1, 2020. Financial results for March 31, 2022 are delayed. “In accordance with the Companies Act, 2013, the audited financial statements for FY2021-22 were due to be laid before shareholders in the Annual General Meeting by September 30, 2022,” Deloitte added.
The audit company emailed Byju’s Managing Director Byju Raveendran and the board of directors on September 30, 2022, November 5, 2022, November 12, 2022, December 24, 2022, and March 29, 2023, for statutory audit for the year ended March 31, 2022.
The audit firm stated it did not get any communication on the resolution of audit report revisions for FY 2021 and the audit readiness of the financial statements and related documents for FY 2022. Byju’s audit was delayed while it awaited a new chief financial officer, according to anonymous sources.
Ajay Goel, Byju’s new group CFO, joined the company a month ago, and the audit will begin next week. The group-level audit is expected to be finished in the upcoming quarter, according to BYJU, and will be completed more quickly thanks to BDO’s experience serving as an auditor for BYJU’S subsidiaries.
BDO will audit the consolidated results for the entire group as well as the principal subsidiaries of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, including Aakash Education Services Limited. According to Byju’s, “this thorough audit coverage will give a holistic view of BYJU’S financial performance and ensure transparency throughout the organization.”
Goel selected BDO as Byju’s auditors after a rigorous procedure. We confidently chose BDO as our auditors after a well-structured selection procedure. Their competence in auditing globally varied major enterprises makes them ideal for our company. “We are excited to collaborate with BDO to uphold the highest standards of financial scrutiny and accountability,” Goel stated.
ICICI, Cisco, IndusInd Bank, and BDO are among the top five global audit firms by turnover.
Conclusion
Deloitte, the auditors of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (Byju’s), has resigned due to a delay in financial statement filing. The company’s financial statements are long delayed, preventing Deloitte from starting an audit. The board has also resigned three board members, including MDs of Peak XV Partners, Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus, and Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg. The original family, CEO Byju Raveendran, wife Divya Gokulnath, and brother Riju, now sits on Byju’s board. Deloitte has been Byju’s statutory auditor since 2016, and the company’s March 31, 2022 financial results are late.
BDO (MSKA & Associates) will be its statutory auditors for five years starting in 2022. The audit will begin next week, with Ajay Goel, Byju’s new group CFO, joining the company. BDO’s experience as an auditor for BYJU’s subsidiaries ensures familiarity with the organization’s operations, enabling a streamlined completion of the group-level audit.
