Byjus auditor BDO Global quits; decision after bankruptcy proceedings begin

Controversies in education technology start-up Byju's are increasing. Now auditor BDO Global has left the company. The reason, according to the auditor is that the start-up did not provide the documents sought after the bankruptcy proceedings began. Byju said this on Saturday. Byju's is facing many challenges including bankruptcy proceedings and a $1 billion claim made by US-based Glass Trust.

This is not the first time Byjus has parted ways with an auditor. BDO Global was appointed auditor earlier this year after former auditor Deloitte quit the company citing multiple discrepancies in the firm's financial reporting. The auditor in a letter to the company on Tuesday said despite an "inordinate" delay in filing financial statements for the year ended March 2023, management provided inadequate assistance to complete the audit.

"We do have reasons to believe that the company does not give sufficient transparency to give the auditor complete information to consider and evaluate," BDO Global said in its letter, according to a report from Reuters.

Byju's contested that it had reasons for not producing the documents, stating that BDO "demanded the said material from its board, which incidentally has been suspended due to bankruptcy proceedings.".

The edtech firm said the letter should be addressed to the bankruptcy professional who is now in control of the company. BDO Global said in its email to the board it had sought an in-depth forensic review of the transactions involving the Dubai-based subsidiary. The auditor has not commented on the news so far. Byju's petitioned for an Indian court-appointed bankruptcy professional forensic audit on the resignation by BDO Global, as stated in the statement. General Atlantic-backed Byju's scored $22 billion in valuation last year. Some successive regulatory mishaps and lately, in a $1 billion dues fight with US banks saw them file bankruptcy and freeze their assets.