Disciplinary Committee of ICAI examines Byju’s Financial Disclosure

Byju’s, a famous educational technology corporation, is currently under investigation by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The ICAI has sent the case to its Disciplinary Committee for review. Byju’s financial disclosures have been reviewed by the ICAI’s Financial Reporting Review Board (FRRB).

According to a source acquainted with the situation, the FRRB has brought some concerns to the disciplinary committee’s notice. “Some areas required further investigation. There are three or four areas of concern that the disciplinary committee will look into further,” they stated.

If the auditor is determined to have committed professional misconduct, the disciplinary body may disqualify them and impose a maximum penalty of Rs. five lakh.

Due to the 22-month delay in financial reports, the ICAI has investigated Byju’s financial declarations, and the federal government has demanded a review of the financial records of the major Edutech business, Byju’s. Significant financial and management issues face the organisation.

The company’s auditors just quit, and three board members followed suit. Deloitte Haskins & Sell, one of the top accounting companies, has resigned from Byju’s – Think and Learn Private Limited, a significant Edutech company. The auditing company resigned from the Board of Directors with immediate effect on June 22, 2023.

The financial accounts of the corporation for the year ending March 31st 2022 are well behind schedule, according to a Deloitte statement.

Byju’s chose BDO (MSKA & Associates) as the new statutory auditors after Deloitte resigned. After a thorough screening procedure, the newly hired auditors were chosen by Byju’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ajay Goel.

As the Covid-19 epidemic spread, Byju’s saw significant growth as students embraced online learning more and more during lockdowns. Nevertheless, the business lost $327 million in 2021. Additionally, the business saw large layoffs both last year and this year.

In May, the firm faced a lawsuit brought by its lenders in a US court. The lenders argued that Byju’s had skipped payments and violated the loan agreement’s terms, which banned major delays in the publishing of financial data. Lenders also accused the corporation of stealing money through its US-based subsidiary, Alpha. However, Byju’s has rejected these allegations.