ICAI Found Gross Negligence By BYJU’S Auditors: President Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has found gross negligence by embattled edtech major BYJU’S auditors, its president Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal said.

“Our inspection has found gross negligence on accounting practices by individual auditors of BYJU’s and accordingly we have recommended to the financial reporting review board (FRRB) to take punitive actions on auditors concerned,” Agarwal told PTI.

This comes days after the chartered accountant apex body’s wing FRRB said it will soon be submitting a detailed report on the financial affairs of BYJU’S.

To be sure, FRRB reviews the financials of companies and auditor reports in a bid to increase efficiencies in financial reporting practices. 

The board had initiated its review of BYJU’s for FY20 and FY21 in 2022. It is pertinent to mention here that after its auditor resigned in June last year,, the startup appointed BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its new statutory auditor.

While the FRRB is yet to release its report on BYJU’s audits, ICAI is also planning a financial inspection of another beleaguered startup, Paytm.

Confirming this to PTI, Agarwal said that the CA apex body is now looking to inspect “the role of the auditors of the payments major Paytm now.”

This comes at a time when Paytm’s payments bank is facing scrutiny from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for lapses in due diligence.

For the uninitiated, Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) will be barred from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in customer accounts after tomorrow due to persistent non-compliances and ongoing supervisory concerns. Additionally, PPBL is restricted from offering banking services, including UPI facilities and fund transfers, beyond this date.

The action comes at the behest of the central bank receiving 501.86 complaints per branch against the bank, taking the total tally to 3,513, between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, as per its latest annual report.

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