Multiple Deadlines Missed, Yet No Sight Of BYJU’S FY22 Financials

Despite embattled edtech giant BYJU’S missing multiple deadlines for filing its financial statements for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), there is no clarity on when the company will release its numbers for the year.

The company, which is late by over a year in publishing its FY22 statements, has now missed the latest reported deadline of the third week of October for releasing its financial numbers.

A mail sent to BYJU’S by Inc42 seeking clarity on the date by which it would release the FY22 numbers elicited no response till the time of publishing this story.

A Saga Of Missed Deadlines

Earlier this year, the Bengaluru-based startup informed its shareholders and lenders that it will file its FY22 financial statements by September 2023. However, BYJU’S missed this deadline and said that its board would adopt the financial statements for FY22 in the second week of October.

“Think and Learn Pvt Ltd (the parent company of BYJU’S) today has issued a notice for convening a board meeting in the second week of Oct’ 2023 for approval and adoption of accounts for FY22. The board of directors along with the Advisory Council and certain invitees will meet to formally adopt the audited accounts,” a BYJU’S spokesperson told Inc42 last month.

But BYJU’S missed this deadline as well for releasing its FY22 numbers. Following this, it was reported on October 16 that the company was set to release its financial statements during that week. While the company didn’t file its numbers during that week, on October 24, it said BYJU’S India CFO Ajay Goel was quitting the company.

BYJU’S said that Goel would be returning to his former employer Vedanta after completing the formalities of the FY22 audit. However, there seems to be no clarity on when the company would file the FY22 numbers despite the month of October nearing its end.

In FY21, BYJU’S net loss surged 19.8X to INR 4,588 Cr, while revenue from operations grew slightly to INR 2,280 Cr.

Debt Crisis, Layoffs & Exits 

The prolonged delay in filing its FY22 numbers has been a big concern for BYJU’S, which is fighting on multiple fronts. Earlier this year, its statutory auditor Deloitte resigned citing the delay in submission of FY22 financial statements. 

“The financial statements of the company for the year March 31, 2022 are long delayed…we have not received any communications on the resolution of the audit report modifications in the respect of the year ended March 31, 2022, status of the 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,” Deloitte said in its resignation letter

Following this, BYJU’S hired BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor.

Amid this, the Byju Raveendran-led startup also saw three out of its six board members resign. Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Vivian Wu, and Peak XV Partners’ GV Ravishankar tendered their resignations from the company’s board, leaving Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath and Riju Raveendran as the remaining members on the board. 

Later, Prosus said BYJU’S reporting and governance structures failed to evolve for a company of that scale

“Despite repeated efforts from our Director, executive leadership at BYJU’S regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters,” Prosus said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Peak XV Partners, in a letter to its limited partners (LPs), said it would mark down its investments in BYJU’S. The VC firm cited lack of visibility into the company’s audited financials for FY22 and FY23 as a factor for taking “corrective measures” in its investments in BYJU’S.

In between all this, BYJU’S was also involved in a confrontation with its lenders over the repayment of its $1.2 Bn Term Loan B.