India's Byju's tells investors it will file 2022 earnings by Sept -source

• Indian edtech giant Byjus faces heat after auditor quits

• After delayed results, plan to file earnings by Sept -source

• Byjus in talks to appoint new independent directors-source

• Deloitte quit saying financial statements \“long delayed\”

NEW DELHI, June 25 (Reuters) - Indian education technology giant Byjus, which lost its auditor after delaying financial statements, has told investors it will file 2022 audited earnings by September and 2023 results by December, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Deloitte said on Thursday it was severing ties with Byjus, one of Indias most successful startups, over its \“long-delayed\” financial statements for the year ended March 2022. Board members representing Peak XV Partners, earlier known as Sequoia Capital India, Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative also stepped down, without publicly expressing their reasons.

The resignations are among the biggest crises for Byjus, valued last year at $22 billion and backed by the likes of investor General Atlantic. The episode raises questions about the edtech firms corporate governance and comes weeks after it was raided over suspected violations of foreign exchange laws.

Byjus leadership, including founder Byju Raveendran and Chief Financial Officer Ajay Goel, briefed about 75 shareholders on Saturday to address their concerns about the companys financial affairs, said the source, who attended the meeting.

Goel told the investors Byjus will submit 2021-22 audited results to Indian regulators by September and 2022-23 earnings by years end, the source said.

Byjus, which became popular offering online and offline tutorials, declined to comment on Sunday. It has not commented on why its results have been delayed.

Deloitte, cutting short a term as auditor that was to end in 2025, said in its resignation there was a \“significant impact\” on its ability to audit the firm as it did not receive financial records from Byjus despite several reminders. Byjus has appointed BDO as its new auditor.

Byjus has asked three board members to reconsider their resignations, Reuters reported on Friday. They decided collectively to quit after raising concerns in recent months with leadership about the audit delays and how Byjus dealt with issues relating to its lenders, sources have said.

The company told investors it was focussing on appointing new independent directors to the board, said the source.

Of the investors who resigned from Byjus board, Peak XV said it would support the company \“to strengthen business processes and internal control mechanisms\”.