Canva fined $792k for filing financials 11 months late

ASIC issued four infringement notices worth $198k each to Canva's Australian entities for failing to lodge FY24 financial reports on time. Total penalty: $792k.

The design platform filed 2023 and 2024 accounts on March 27, 2025, nearly 11 months after the April 30, 2024 deadline. This is not their first offense. Canva paid $571k in earlier penalties for similar delays across the same four entities.

What changed

Canva's CFO Damien Singh left suddenly in early 2024 after years in the role. The company operated without a CFO for 10 months before hiring Kelly Steckelberg from Zoom in late 2024. The filing delays coincide with this leadership gap.

The four penalised entities (Canva Pty Ltd, Canva Operations Pty Ltd, Canva Trading Pty Ltd, Fusion Books Pty Ltd) restructured into a single entity, Canva Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, last year.

Why this matters

Canva is valued at $26 billion (2021 Series D), making it one of ANZ's most valuable private tech companies. IPO speculation has circulated for years. For a company at this scale eyeing public markets, repeated compliance failures signal governance issues that investors and potential hires should note.

The $198k per-entity fine is half the $396k maximum penalty if prosecuted. Paying the infringement notice is not an admission of guilt under ASIC rules.

Canva declined to comment on the delays.

Context for sales professionals

If you are evaluating Canva as an employer, ask about operational stability during the CFO transition. Financial reporting discipline matters less for day-to-day quota attainment, but governance issues at this level can indicate broader organizational challenges. Worth noting if you are considering enterprise AE or leadership roles where company stability factors into comp risk.

Canva's 2025 accounts were filed on time last week, suggesting the new CFO has tightened processes.