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Byju’s auditor Deloitte resigns

6pm, 22 June: The Ken has learnt that Deloitte Haskins & Sells resigned as Byju’s statutory auditor with immediate effect.

The Ken has accessed the resignation letter Deloitte sent Byju’s parent, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd. In the letter, Deloitte pointed out the delay in the filing of the company’s financials for the year ended March 2022, and the lack of communication on resolution of “audit report modifications” on the company’s financials for the year ended March 2021.

The Ken has reached out to Byju’s and Deloitte for comments. The story will be updated as and when they respond.

In addition to Deloitte’s resignation, three directors have reportedly resigned from the board of Think and Learn. These include GV Ravishankar, managing director of Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India and SEA); Russell Dreisenstock, head of international investments at Prosus Ventures; and Vivian Wu, managing partner of ventures at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. But Byju’s denied this. 

Deloitte is resigning ahead of its five-year term. It was appointed auditor for the 2020-2025 period. “The financial statements of the company for the year March 31, 2022, are long delayed. It was due to be laid before shareholders by September 30, 2022,” it said in its resignation letter. It added that the delay had a significant impact on its ability to plan, design, perform, and complete the audit in accordance with the applicable auditing standards. 

Byju’s said it has appointed accounting firm BDO (MSKA and Associates) as its new auditor for both the holding company and the subsidiaries like Aakash Education Services. It will take over the FY22 audit from Deloitte and stay as statutory auditor for the next five years.

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Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, commonly known as Byju’s, is going through a learning moment. It’s a chapter on what happens when lenders of all kinds come knocking on every door.

The world’s most valued edtech is right in the eye of a lending cyclone.

Starting in April, major non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including Avanse Financial Services, Aditya Birla Finance, and Fullerton India, which lend to the customers of Byju’s, have suspended loans that facilitate sales of the edtech’s products, said multiple current and former Byju’s’ employees and NBFC executives.