Report on the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements Opinion
We have audited the Standalone Financial Statements of Axis Bank Limited (‘the Bank'), which comprises the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2024, the Profit and Loss Account and the Cash Flow Statement for the year then ended, and notes to the Standalone Financial Statements including a summary of the significant accounting policies and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as ‘Standalone Financial Statements').
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements give the information required by Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as well as the Companies Act, 2013 (‘the Act') and circulars and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI'), in the manner so required for banking companies and give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the Accounting Standards prescribed under Section 133 of the Act, read with rules made thereunder, of the state of affairs of the Bank as at March 31, 2024, and its profit, and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (‘SAs') specified under Section 143 (10) of the Act. Our responsibilities under those SAs are further described in the Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Bank in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements under the provisions of the Act, and the Rules thereunder, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements.
Key Audit Matters
Key Audit Matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements for the current year. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. We have determined the matters prescribed below to be the Key Audit Matters:
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Sr. No. Key Audit Matters
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How the Matter was addressed in our report
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1 Information Technology (IT) Systems and controls over financial reporting
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The Bank's financial accounting and reporting systems are
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We have planned, designed and carried out the desired audit
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highly dependent on the effective working of the Core Banking
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procedures and sample checks, taking into consideration
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Solution (CBS) and other IT systems linked to the CBS or working
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the IT systems of the Bank. For this purpose, we obtained an
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independently including the existence, completeness of an audit trail (edit log) that operated throughout the year without
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understanding of the Bank's IT environment. As part of our IT
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any tampering. Considering the extensive volume, diverse
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controls testing, we have tested IT General Controls (ITGC) as
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nature and complexity of transactions that are processed
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well as IT Automated Controls (ITAC) for select applications.
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daily, there is a risk that automated accounting procedures
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We also verified the audit trail (edit log) on test check basis for
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and related internal controls may not be accurately designed and operating effectively. There exists a risk that gaps in the
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identified accounting applications.
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IT control environment could result in the financial accounting
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The procedures adopted by us are, in our opinion, adequate to
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and reporting records being materially misstated. Appropriate
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provide reasonable assurance on the adequacy of IT controls
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IT controls are required to ensure that the IT applications
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in place. Critical areas for improvement, if any, as and when
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perform as planned and the changes made are properly
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noticed are communicated to the Bank's Management and
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authorized, tested and controlled. Such controls contribute to
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the adequacy of action taken by the Bank where necessary, is
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risk mitigation of erroneous output data. The audit outcome is heavily dependent on the robustness of IT systems and controls.
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reviewed by us periodically as part of our audit procedures.
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We have identified IT Controls Framework including the audit
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IT audit specialists are an integral part of our engagement team.
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trail (edit log) as a Key Audit Matter as the Bank's business is
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In addition, we have also relied on IS and other technology
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highly dependent on technology. The IT environment of the
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related audits conducted by Internal Audit Department,
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Bank is complex and the design and operating effectiveness of IT
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and also the audit of Internal Financial Control over
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controls have a direct impact on its financial reporting process. Review of these controls allows us to provide assurance on
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Financial Reporting conducted by the Internal Audit
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the integrity and completeness of data processed through various IT applications which are used for the preparation and presentation of financial reports.
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Department of the Bank.
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Sr. No.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the Matter was addressed in our report
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1
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Information Technology (IT) Systems and controls over financial reporting
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We also tested key automated and manual business cycle controls and logic for system generated reports relevant to the audit; including testing of compensating controls or performed alternate procedures to assess whether there were any unaddressed IT risks that would materially impact the Standalone Financial Statements.
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We have also carried out independent alternative audit procedures like substantive testing, analytical procedures etc. to verify the accuracy of the data generated from the IT system.
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2
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Income Recognition, Asset Classification (IRAC) and provisioning requirements.
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on Loans & Advances and Investments as per the regulatory
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Please refer to Note no. 2.4 (a) of Schedule 18 relating to Asset Quality in respect of movement of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and related provisions and disclosures with regard to Non-Performing Investments (NPI) respectively and Note no. 3.10(c) of Schedule 18 regarding reclassification of the provision created in earlier years towards COVID-19.
The Management of the Bank relies on its automated IT systems to determine asset classification, income recognition, provisioning for standard and non-performing advances/ investments and for compliance of applicable regulatory guidelines issued by the RBI. The Management supplements its assessment by availing services of experts (like independent valuers, lawyers, legal experts and other professionals) to determine the valuation and enforceability of security of such advances/ investments.
The Bank makes provisions for the performing and nonperforming advances/ investments, as per its governing framework which includes Management's assessment of the degree of impairment subject to and guided by minimum provisioning levels prescribed under RBI guidelines.
Compliance of relevant prudential norms issued by the RBI in respect of income recognition, asset classification and provisioning pertaining to advances as well as those pertaining to investments is a key audit matter due to the materiality, complexity and uncertainty involved and the current processes at the Bank which requires certain manual interventions, Management estimates and judgement.
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Our audit approach included testing the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls, and substantive audit procedures in respect of income recognition, asset classification and provisioning pertaining to advances and investments. In particular:
• We have evaluated and understood the Bank's internal control system in adhering to the relevant RBI guidelines regarding income recognition, asset classification and provisioning pertaining to advances and investments;
• We have tested key IT systems/ applications used and their design and implementation as well as operating effectiveness of relevant controls, including involvement of manual process and manual controls in relation to income recognition, asset classification, provisioning pertaining to advances and investments and compliances of other regulatory guidelines issued by the RBI;
• We have test checked advances to examine the validity of the recorded amounts, loan documentation, examined the statement of accounts, indicators of impairment, impairment provision for non-performing assets, and compliance with income recognition, asset classification and provisioning pertaining to advances in terms of applicable RBI guidelines;
• We have evaluated the past trends of Management judgement, governance process and review controls over impairment provision calculations and discussed the provisions made with the top and senior management of the Bank;
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We have also relied on work done by external experts like valuers, lawyers, concurrent auditors etc. on specific areas;
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Critical areas for improvement, if any, as and when noticed are communicated to the Bank's Management and the adequacy of action taken by the Bank where necessary, is reviewed by us periodically as part of our audit procedures.
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Information other than the Standalone Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report thereon
The Bank's Management and Board of Directors are responsible for the Other Information. The Other Information comprises the information included in the Annual Report but does not include the Standalone Financial Statements, Consolidated Financial Statements and our Auditors' Report thereon and the Pillar III Disclosures under Basel III Capital Regulation, Leverage Ratio, Liquidity Coverage Ratio and Net Stable Funding Ratio. The Other Information is expected to be made available to us after the date of this Auditors' Report.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements does not cover the Other Information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements, our responsibility is to read the Other Information identified above when it becomes available and, in doing so, consider whether the Other Information is materially inconsistent with the Standalone Financial Statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
When we read the Other Information, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are required to communicate the matter to those charged with governance.
Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Standalone Financial Statements
The Bank's Board of Directors and Management are responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation of these Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs, profit and cash flows of the Bank in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act, provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the circulars and guidelines issued by RBI from time to time. This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act, for safeguarding of the assets of the Bank and for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities, selection and application of appropriate accounting policies, making judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent, and design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, relevant to the preparation and presentation of the Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the Standalone Financial Statements, the Management and Board of Directors are responsible for assessing the Bank's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Management and Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Bank's financial reporting process.
Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Standalone Financial Statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditors' Report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Standalone Financial Statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Standalone Financial Statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. Under Section 143(3)(i) of the Act, we are also responsible for expressing our opinion on whether the Bank has adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements in place and the operating effectiveness of such controls.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures in the Standalone Financial Statements made by the Management and Board of Directors.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the Management and Board of Directors use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Bank's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our Auditors' Report to the related disclosures in the Standalone Financial Statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our Auditors' Report. However, future events or conditions may cause a Bank to cease to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the Standalone Financial Statements, including the disclosures,
and whether the Standalone Financial Statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that
achieves fair presentation.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the Standalone Financial Statements of the current period and are therefore the Key Audit Matters. We describe these matters in our Auditors' Report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
The Standalone Balance Sheet and the Standalone Profit and Loss Account have been drawn up in accordance with the provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Section 133 of the Act.
A. As required by sub-section (3) of Section 30 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, we report that:
(a) we have obtained all the information and explanations which, to the best of our knowledge and belief, were necessary for the purpose of our audit and have found them to be satisfactory;
(b) the transactions of the Bank, which have come to our notice, have been within the powers of the Bank; and
(c) since the key operations of the Bank are automated with the key applications integrated to the core banking systems, the audit is carried out centrally as all the necessary records and data required for the purposes of our audit are available therein. However, during the course of our audit we have visited 86 locations (including credit units) to examine the records maintained at such locations for the purpose of our audit.
B. Further, as required by Section 143(3) of the Act, we report that:
(a) we have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements;
(b) in our opinion, proper books of account as required by law relating to preparation of the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements have been kept by the Bank so far as it appears from our examination of those books;
(c) the Standalone Balance Sheet, the Standalone Profit and Loss Account, and the Standalone Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the relevant books of accounts maintained for the purpose of preparation of the Standalone Financial Statements;
(d) in our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act read with relevant rules issued thereunder, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the accounting policies prescribed by RBI;
(e) on the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on March 31, 2024 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors are disqualified as on March 31, 2024 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164 (2) of the Act; and
(f) with respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Financial Statements of the Bank and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in ‘Annexure A'.
C. With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditors' Report in accordance with Rule 11 of the Companies (Audit
and Auditors) Rules, 2014, in our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us:
i. the Bank has disclosed the impact of pending litigations as at March 31,2024 on its financial position in its Standalone Financial Statements - Refer Schedule 12 - Contingent Liabilities to the Standalone Financial Statements;
ii. the Bank has made provision, as required under the applicable law or accounting standards, for material foreseeable losses, if any, on long-term contracts including derivative contracts - Refer Schedule 5 read with Note No. 3.14 of Schedule 18 to the Standalone Financial Statements in respect of such items as it relates to the Bank;
iii. there has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Bank;
iv. a. the Management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the
Note No. 3.13 of Schedule 18 to the Standalone Financial Statements, no funds (which are material either individually or in the aggregate) have been advanced or loaned or invested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the Bank to or in any other person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (“Intermediaries”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall, whether, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Bank (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
b. further, the Management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the Note No. 3.13 of Schedule 18 to the Standalone Financial Statements, no funds (which are material either individually or in the aggregate) have been received by the Bank from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (“Funding Parties”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Bank shall, whether, directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
c. based on such audit procedures that were considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that the representations under sub-clause (a) and (b) above contain any material misstatement.
v. a. the final dividend paid by the Bank during the year in respect of the same declared for the previous year is in
accordance with Section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to payment of dividend.
b. as stated in Note No. 3.3 of Schedule 18 to the Standalone Financial Statements, the Board of Directors of the Bank has proposed final dividend for the financial year 2023-2024 which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The amount of dividend proposed is in accordance with Section 123 of the Act.
vi. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Bank has used an accounting software for maintaining its books of account which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility a nd the same has operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software. Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.
D. With respect to the matter to be included in the Auditors' Report under Section 197(16) of the Act:
The Bank is a banking company as defined under Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Accordingly, the requirements prescribed
under Section 197 of the Companies Act, 2013 do not apply by virtue of Section 35B(2A) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
For M. P. Chitale & Co. For C N K & Associates LLP
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
ICAI FRN 101851W ICAI FRN 101961W/W100036
Ashutosh Pednekar Manish Sampat
Partner Partner
ICAI M. No. 041037 ICAI M. No. 101684
UDIN: 24041037BKEINP3267 UDIN: 24101684BKEJDE2210
Place: Mumbai Place: Mumbai
Date: April 24, 2024 Date: April 24, 2024
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