Government Orders Probe on Edtech Firm Byju’s Over Financial Issues

The corporate affairs ministry has ordered an inspection of the books of Byju’s, a senior government official said on Monday amid the edtech major facing multiple headwinds, including delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues.

The inspection of Bengaluru-based Think & Learn, which operates under the brand Byju’s, will be carried out by the ministry, which is implementing the companies law.

The ministry decided to carry out the inspection after taking note of the developments, including that the company has been unable to finalise its financial statements and that its auditor has resigned, the official told PTI.

Earlier this month, the ministry asked the office of the Regional Director in Hyderabad to conduct an inspection of the company, which is registered in Bengaluru, the official said.

The official also said that further course of action will be decided after receiving the inspection report.

A query sent to Byju’s seeking comments on the inspection remained unanswered.

Think & Learn Pvt Ltd was incorporated on November 30, 2011. The last Annual General Meeting of the company was held on September 19, 2022, as per data available with the ministry.

In recent months, the edtech major has been grappling with multiple issues, including concerns over its corporate governance practices.

Audit firm Deloitte resigned as an auditor of Byju’s citing a delay in submitting financial statements while also simultaneously three of its board members resigned which indicated the deepening of the crisis at the edtech firm.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which was slated to audit Byju’s until 2025, stepped down with “immediate effect” mid-term stating that “the financial statements of the company are long delayed.” Last month, sources aware of the development said Byju’s has committed to its investor to close the long-pending audit of the financial year 2022 by September and fiscal year 2023 by December.

In a call with shareholders last month, Byju’s CEO Byju Raveendran admitted his past mistakes and assured shareholders that his learnings far outweigh any missteps.

Last week, the company said former SBI chief Rajnish Kumar and IT industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai will join its Advisory Council.