<p>In another blow to embattled ed-tech giant Byju's, leading audit firm Deloitte has stepped down as the unicorn statup's statutory auditor citing delayed financial statements. At the same time, three of Byju’s board members have reportedly tendered their resignation due to operational differences with founder Byju Raveendran, as per media reports.</p>.<p>"The financial statements of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2022 are long delayed. We have also not received any communication on the resolution of the audit report modifications in respect of the year ended March 31, 2021, and the 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," said Deloitte in a statement.</p>.<p>As a result of the delays, Deloitte has been unable to “plan, design, perform and complete the audit in accordance with the applicable auditing standards,” it added.</p>.<p>Following Deloitte’s exit, Byju's on Thursday announced the appointment of BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor for the year commencing from FY22 for the next five years, adding that the resignation is part of a “planned transition.” BDO will also be the statutory auditor of the consolidated group Think & Learn Private Limited, and will audit the pre-IPO Aakash Educational Services.</p>.<p>At the same time, the firm has categorically denied that representatives of three of its top investors have quit the board. G V Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners), Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus reportedly resigned on Sunday but their resignations have not yet been accepted, several media reports citing unrecognized internal sources said.</p>.<p>A Byju’s spokesperson labelled the reports “entirely speculative”, adding that “any significant developments or changes within our organization are shared through official channels and announcements.”</p>.<p>The company’s other three board members include Riju Raveendran, Byju Raveendran, and Divya Gokulnath.</p>.<p>The world’s most valued ed-tech company has had a rough year after its long-awaited FY21 (2020-21) results had highlighted irregularities in Byju’s revenue recognition practices. The firm also reported a Rs 4,589 crore loss in FY21, which was nearly 20 times the adjusted loss for the previous financial year. At the time, Deloitte had delayed signing off on the results flagging concerns around revenue reporting.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, Byju’s had refused to make a $40 million interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan B, and had instead counter-sued its lenders noting that they were indulging in “bad-faith negotiating tactics”. The board members’ departure was also influenced by their disapproval over the founders’ approach towards lender management and transparency, recent media reports have alleged.</p>
<p>In another blow to embattled ed-tech giant Byju's, leading audit firm Deloitte has stepped down as the unicorn statup's statutory auditor citing delayed financial statements. At the same time, three of Byju’s board members have reportedly tendered their resignation due to operational differences with founder Byju Raveendran, as per media reports.</p>.<p>"The financial statements of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2022 are long delayed. We have also not received any communication on the resolution of the audit report modifications in respect of the year ended March 31, 2021, and the 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," said Deloitte in a statement.</p>.<p>As a result of the delays, Deloitte has been unable to “plan, design, perform and complete the audit in accordance with the applicable auditing standards,” it added.</p>.<p>Following Deloitte’s exit, Byju's on Thursday announced the appointment of BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor for the year commencing from FY22 for the next five years, adding that the resignation is part of a “planned transition.” BDO will also be the statutory auditor of the consolidated group Think & Learn Private Limited, and will audit the pre-IPO Aakash Educational Services.</p>.<p>At the same time, the firm has categorically denied that representatives of three of its top investors have quit the board. G V Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners), Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus reportedly resigned on Sunday but their resignations have not yet been accepted, several media reports citing unrecognized internal sources said.</p>.<p>A Byju’s spokesperson labelled the reports “entirely speculative”, adding that “any significant developments or changes within our organization are shared through official channels and announcements.”</p>.<p>The company’s other three board members include Riju Raveendran, Byju Raveendran, and Divya Gokulnath.</p>.<p>The world’s most valued ed-tech company has had a rough year after its long-awaited FY21 (2020-21) results had highlighted irregularities in Byju’s revenue recognition practices. The firm also reported a Rs 4,589 crore loss in FY21, which was nearly 20 times the adjusted loss for the previous financial year. At the time, Deloitte had delayed signing off on the results flagging concerns around revenue reporting.</p>.<p>Earlier this month, Byju’s had refused to make a $40 million interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan B, and had instead counter-sued its lenders noting that they were indulging in “bad-faith negotiating tactics”. The board members’ departure was also influenced by their disapproval over the founders’ approach towards lender management and transparency, recent media reports have alleged.</p>