BYJU’S To Delay FY22 Financials To September

SUMMARY

BYJU’S is said to have reassured its shareholders that it will file FY22 financials by September and FY23 financials by December

The move comes days after BYJU'S statutory auditor, Deloitte Haskins, resigned, leading the edtech giant to appoint BDO

BYJU’S has had to face multiple problems in the past due to late filings, including a reported technical default assumed by its TLB lenders

Edtech decacorn BYJU’S, which is fighting battles on multiple fronts right now, has reportedly assured its investors that it will file its financials for the year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) by September.

Further, BYJU’S plans to file the financials for the year ended March 31, 2023 (FY23), by December this year. BYJU’S cofounder and CEO Byju Raveendran and CFO Ajay Goel briefed its 75 shareholders on Saturday (June 24).

The edtech has put a timeline on its FY22 financials comes days after BYJU’S statutory auditor, Deloitte Haskins, resigned citing the delays, leading the edtech giant to appoint BDO (MSKA & Associates) on Thursday (June 23).

“We have not received any communications on the resolution of the audit report modifications in respect of the year ended March 31, 2022, the 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 a statement.

To be sure, BYJU’S filed its financial statements for FY21 in September 2022, 18 months after the financial year ended. The edtech giant is set to follow a similar timeline despite the multiple issues caused by the delay in filing the financial statements.

For one, the lenders in the edtech’s $1.2 Bn Term Loan B (TLB) reportedly considered the delay in filing the FY22 financials as a technical default, further souring the relationship between the lenders and the edtech.

Right now, BYJU’S is engaged in two lawsuits in the US – one from the lenders against the edtech in Delaware, and one the edtech filed against one of its lenders in the New York Supreme Court.

The Many Fires At BYJU’S

The past few days can only be described as a storm at the edtech giant. The edtech giant reportedly conducted another round of layoffs as it missed a $40 Mn payment on its term loan B.

Inc42 had also reported last week that the edtech giant was allegedly asking senior-level employees, including senior managers, associate vice presidents, and vice presidents, to resign or face termination.

Besides, three key board members – GV Ravishankar, MD of early-backer Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg’s Vivian Wu also tendered their resignations.

BYJU’S was said to be talking to its investors to reformulate the board, which consists of Byju, his wife and cofounder Divya Gokulnath and his brother Riju Raveendran. According to a company spokesperson, the edtech giant is now looking to bring on board an independent director.