New Delhi: The corporate affairs ministry ordered an inspection of edtech start-up Byju’s last week, according to CNBC-TV18 report.
The ministry has taken cognisance of various corporate governance lapses at Byju’s, the television channel reported citing sources. A spokesperson from Byju’s, however, denied the report and called it speculative.
“We have not received any such correspondence from MCA regarding this, and are not aware of any such inspection,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The finance ministry did not respond to a message seeking comment. The report comes a day after Deloitte and three board members of Byju’s severed ties with the company amid an escalating legal battle with its lenders and its plummeting valuation in the eyes of some investors.
Deloitte Haskins & Sells has resigned as auditors of Byju’s citing a delay in submission of financial statements while almost simultaneously three of the edtech firm’s board members have quit in what is being seen as a deepening crisis at the decacorn. Deloitte, 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.
In a letter sent to the board of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (known as Byju’s), Deloitte said it has not been able to start an audit due to the delays and that will have a “significant impact” on its ability to “plan, design perform and complete” the audit as per standards.
Byju’s in a statement said it has appointed BDO as its new auditor, adding this would help it “uphold the highest standards of financial scrutiny and accountability. Separately, three of Byju’s board members, including GV Ravishankar, MD of early-backer Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg’s Vivian Wu have resigned, sources said.
