Deloitte resigns as Byju’s auditor

Global audit firm Deloitte has resigned as the auditor of Byju’s and did not undertake the auditing of the edtech behemoth’s financials for the year ending March 2022, it said Thursday, a year after the Indian startup’s tardy financial disclosures attracted global scrutiny.

Byju’s in a statement termed Deloitte’s resignation as “planned transition” and said it had appointed BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditors.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup also refuted a report that said three of its key board members had resigned from their roles.

GV Ravishankar of Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia India and Southeast Asia), Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus have stepped down from the board, Indian newspaper Economic Times reported Thursday.

Byju’s said: “A recent media report suggesting the resignations of board members from Byju’s is entirely speculative. Byju’s firmly denies these claims and urges media publications to refrain from spreading unverified information or engaging in baseless speculation.”

Byju’s co-founders — Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath — and Riju Raveendran also sit at the startup’s board.

The startup, the world’s most valuable education technology company, is grappling with a series of challenges. Byju’s refused to make a $40 million payment earlier this month and counter-sued its lenders. Byju’s said its lenders were operating in “bad-faith negotiating tactics.” Lenders allege that Byju’s has technically defaulted on the loan.

The startup is also cutting about 1,000 jobs as it pushes to improve its finances.