Deloitte resigns as BYJU’S, Aakash auditor; BDO to replace

Troubles are mounting for edtech major BYJU'S as Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, has officially stepped down as BYJU’S and Aakash’s statutory auditor, attributing its resignation to the delay in the company filing its FY22 financial statements.

“We have also not received any communication on the resolution of the audit report modifications in respect of the year ended March 31, 2021, status of audit readiness of the financial statements and the underlying books and records for the year ended March 31, 2022, and we have not been able to commence the audit as on date,” Deloitte noted in a regulatory filing.

“As a result, there will be a significant impact on our ability to plan, design, perform and complete the audit in accordance with the applicable auditing standards. In view of the aforesaid, we are tendering our resignation as statutory auditors of the Company with immediate effect,” the filing added.

BYJU’S has appointed BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor for the year commencing from FY22 for the next five years.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells had been appointed as statutory auditors of Think & Learn Private Limited to hold office from the conclusion of the 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) till the conclusion of the 14th AGM of the company, i.e., for a period of five years commencing from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2025. 

The firm's decision to step down as the company's statutory auditor comes amid the reports of three key board members resigning from BYJU’S board due to disagreements with founder Byju Raveendran on critical operational matters related to the edtech company.

However, BYJU'S has denied these reports.

In April, BYJU'S appointed Ajay Goel as Chief Financial Officer amid a delay in filing the FY22 financials with the Registrar of Companies. In FY21, the edtech giant reported a loss of Rs 4,564.38 crore, which was larger than its FY20 loss of Rs 305.5 crore.

This development also comes at a time when the edtech giant awaits large funding infusion while also finding itself entangled in disputes with its creditors over a $1.2-billion term loan B (TLB).

The edtech unicorn has been plagued with mounting losses, layoffs, and pending loans after the end of the pandemic-led edtech boom.

Earlier this week, it initiated another round of job cuts that will impact more than 1,000 people.