MSKA quits as Byju's auditor, two years after Deloitte exit
MSKA & Associates, the audit firm of embattled edtech startup Byju's, has informed the company's board of its resignation as statutory auditor with immediate effect, said two people aware of the development.
This will affect the firm's audit for FY23 accounts. It had been appointed for a five-year term ending FY27.
In the resignation letter, the auditor also cited a suspicious transaction related to Dubai-based reseller More Ideas General Trading LLC that had been reported to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) on September 2, said the people quoted above. This involves recovery of about ₹1,400 crore from the reseller. ET had reported February 19 that investors in Byju's had raised red flags over the management's failure to recover dues in this particular transaction.
Byju's and MSKA & Associates hadn't responded to queries as of press time.
MSKA reportedly took the decision to quit due to management's uncooperative attitude, difficulty in getting numbers and details required to conduct a proper probe, and a matter coming to light that had to be reported to MCA as per Companies Act.
MSKA & Associates is the second audit firm to resign from Byju's in a little over two years, following Deloitte Haskins & Sells' exit on June 23, 2022. The Byju's board had first appointed MSKA & Associates on August 2, 2023, to fill the casual vacancy that opened up as a result.
The firm was re-appointed on December 20, 2023, as the statutory auditor of the company at the AGM for a five-year term, from FY23 to FY27.
'Lack of
