The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is going to resume its probe on the troubled edtech firm Byju’s from Thursday after the institute forms four new benches of its disciplinary committee, said Charanjot Singh Nanda, president of ICAI. “One of these benches will take up the investigation of Byju’s, and resume from the point from where the last bench had left off. The new benches will be re-constituted on Thursday with each of them having five members,” he said.
In February, the tenure of previous benches of the disciplinary committee had concluded, and since then, the ICAI was waiting for the government to suggest its nominees to be appointed on these benches. As per the rules, each disciplinary bench is required to have two government-nominated members, names of which are provided by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA).
In December 2024, the disciplinary directorate at ICAI had referred the Byju’s case to the disciplinary committee for alleged auditing lapses at the edtech firm. Prior to that, the financial reporting review board (FRRB) at ICAI started the investigation against Byju’s in March 2024, and found prima facie violations. Following which, FRRB referred the case to the disciplinary directorate.
Last year, the disciplinary committee had sent notices to the Byju’s auditors asking them to present their case in front of the bench.
“The cases are referred to disciplinary committee for detailed investigation. If found guilt, the members are punished with permanent removal, temporary suspension and financial penalties,” said Nanda adding that the FRRB is currently reviewing the financial statements of IndusInd and Gensol. “The investigation on IndusInd and Gensol is likely to be concluded in six months,” he said.
The disciplinary committee of ICAI operates under Section 21B of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. It’s responsible for probing and adjudicating complaints of professional or other misconduct against its members.