Byju's CFO Ajay Goel resigns after seven months, rejoins Vedanta
Ajay Goel, who assumed the role of CFO at Byju's in April, has announced his departure from the edtech behemoth after a mere seven months. Goel will exit the company after finalizing the audit procedures for the fiscal year ending March 2022 and will rejoin mining conglomerate Vedanta. Byju's has named industry expert Pradip Kanakia as a senior advisor and promoted Nitin Golani, currently holding the position of President of the start-up's finances, to the role of CFO.
Byju's struggles with governance and financial issues
The latest development adds to the challenges faced by Byju's—India's most valuable start-up, once estimated to be worth up to $50 billion for an IPO. The company is wrestling with several governance, financial, and image-related issues. It's in negotiations with a consortium of lenders over a $1.2 billion term-B loan and is embroiled in another dispute with Davidson Kempner, which initially agreed to provide $250 million in credit but is now demanding repayment over activation of a technical default clause.
Deloitte and board members' resignations
In June, Deloitte resigned from Byju's, alongside the exit of three key board members. In its resignation letter, Deloitte claimed Byju's hadn't offered "any communication" regarding the resolution of the audit report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, nor provided an update on the preparedness of financial statements and underlying records for the fiscal year March 2022. Furthermore, Prosus—an early investor holding over 9% of Byju's shares—publicly chastised the start-up for not adapting adequately and ignoring investor guidance.
Job cuts and delayed financial account filing
Since market conditions shifted, Byju's has eliminated over 10,000 jobs and consistently postponed submitting the financial account for March 2022. In a statement, Goel expressed, "I thank the founders and colleagues at Byju's for helping me assemble the FY22 audit in three months. I appreciate the support received during a short but impactful stint at Byju's." Goel will now rejoin Vedanta, to oversee restructuring, reports Bloomberg.
