Byju's calls for AGM to approve audited FY22 financials as more troubles mount

Byju's informed its shareholders about the meeting scheduled on December 20 at 6 pm in the letter

Embattled edtech company Byju’s called for an annual general meeting (AGM) at a time when the company is battling troubles on multiple fronts.

Byju's informed its shareholders about the meeting scheduled on December 20 at 6 pm in a letter, a copy of which Moneycontrol has reviewed.

The company plans to discuss multiple matters during the meeting, including approving the audited FY22 financials with the report of the board, it said in the letter.

It also plans to approve the appointment of MSKA & ASSOCIATES as the statutory auditors and to approve the remuneration of B Y & ASSOCIATES, the cost accountants and the cost auditors of the company for FY22, FY23 and FY24.

Byju's confirmed to Moneycontrol that it sent the letter to its shareholders.

Also read: BCCI claims Byju's has defaulted payment of Rs 158 crore

This comes a month after it announced partial or incomplete FY22 financials only reflecting its core operations, even after a delay of almost a year.

Delay in results

Previously, Byju’s management had agreed with its investors that the company would be putting out FY22 results by the end of September and FY23 results by the end of December.

Byju’s, which did not have a full-time Chief Financial Officer for almost two years, had delayed their FY21 results also by almost 18 months. The company roped in Ajay Goel, a former Vedanta executive in April as its CFO.

However, Goel quit barely six months after joining the edtech firm and headed back to his previous company Vedanta on October 24.

In June, Deloitte, Byju’s long-standing auditor, which flagged concerns with the company’s revenue recognition methods for its accounts in FY21, also resigned citing a delay in producing FY22 results. The company, touted as India’s most-valued startup, onboarded BDO then.

The company said it plans the consolidated numbers with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in the next three weeks.

Although the FY22 results come after a delay of nearly 19 months, depicting a snapshot from nearly two years ago, they hold immense importance. During FY22, which marked the second year of the pandemic and was a shot in the arm for India’s edtech sector, Byju's acquired at least eight major companies both in India and abroad while securing over $3 billion in equity and debt.

Byju's concluded FY22 on a positive note by finalising a substantial $800 million funding round at a valuation of $22 billion, establishing itself as the most valuable startup in the country. However, since then, a series of controversies have unfolded.

It all commenced with Byju’s long-standing auditor Deloitte declining to sign off on its FY21 (2020-21) results which led to an over 18-month delay in releasing the results. It was followed by extensive media reports of alleged mis-selling and unstructured sacking of tens of thousands of employees.

In FY23, the situation further deteriorated significantly as senior management and the company's board of directors resigned abruptly, exacerbating the challenges facing the company.