Corporate Governance issues at India’s most valuable startup
As per some reports, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has ordered inspection for corporate governance lapses at Byju’s, India’a most valuable startup and edtech leader. Recently three board members resigned over business practices being followed by the company. Thereafter, Deloitte also stepped down as statutory auditor and BYJU’S appointed BDO MSKA Associates as auditor to strengthen governance. As per EPFO data, BYJU’S has also been making PF contributions with a lag of almost 3-4 months.
BYJU'S Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran has expressed his confidence in strengthening all the processes and mentioned that the company is looking to enhance its board, including the addition of independent directors. He clarified that although some board members had tendered their resignations, the company has not accepted them yet.
Timely public disclosure of audited financial results is central to ensuring good corporate governance and protecting stakeholders, including creditors, lenders and investors. The corporate governance lapses in Byju’s, which managed to raise around $6 billion from marquee investors such as Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and was valued at $22 billion in March 2022, are need to be looked into seriouly.
