Report on the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements Opinion
We have audited the accompanying Standalone Financial Statements of Larsen & Toubro Limited (the "Company"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31,2024, and the Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), the Statement of Cash Flows and the Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended on that date, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of material accounting policies and other explanatory information, and which includes 31 joint operations accounted on proportionate basis.
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, and based on the consideration of reports of the other auditors on separate financial statements of the joint operations referred to in the Other Matters section below, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements give the information required by the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act") in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the Indian Accounting Standards prescribed under section 133 of the Act and other accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2024, and its profit, total comprehensive income, its cash flows and the changes in equity for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements in accordance with the Standards on Auditing ("SAs") specified under section 143(10) of the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act"). Our responsibilities under those Standards are further described in the Auditor's Responsibility for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Company in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ("ICAI") 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 made thereunder, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the ICAI's Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidence obtained by us and the audit evidence obtained by the other auditors in terms of their reports referred to in the Other Matters section below, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit 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 of the current financial 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 described below to be the key audit matters to be communicated in our report.
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Revenue recognition
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- accounting for construction contracts
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Key audit matter
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There are significant accounting judgements in estimating revenue to be recognised on contracts with customers,
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description
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including estimation of costs to complete. The Company recognises revenue on the basis of stage of completion in proportion of the contract costs incurred at balance sheet date, relative to the total estimated costs of the contract at completion. The recognition of revenue is therefore dependent on estimates in relation to total estimated costs of each such contract.
Significant judgements are involved in determining the expected losses, when such losses become probable based on the expected total contract cost. Cost contingencies are included in these estimates to take into account specific risks of uncertainties or disputed claims against the Company, arising within each contract. These contingencies are reviewed by the Management on a regular basis throughout the life of the contract and adjusted where appropriate. The revenue on contracts may also include variable consideration (variations and claims). Variable consideration is recognised when the recovery of such consideration is highly probable.
Refer to Note No. [1](II)(e) and 31 to the Standalone Financial Statements
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Principal Audit
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Our audit procedures related to the (1) identification of distinct performance obligations, (2) evaluation of the
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Procedures
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process for estimation of costs to complete (3) evaluation of implications of change orders on costs estimates of costs to complete and revenue and (4) evaluation of any variable consideration included the following, amongst others:
• We tested the effectiveness of controls relating to the (a) evaluation of performance obligations and identification of those that are distinct; (b) estimation of costs to complete each of the performance obligations including the contingencies in respect thereof, as work progresses and the impact thereon as a consequence of change orders; (c) the impact of change orders on the transaction price of the related contracts; and (d) evaluation of the impact of variable consideration on the transaction price.
• We selected a sample of contracts with customers and performed the following procedures:
a. Obtained and read contract documents for each selection, change orders, and other documents that were part of the agreement.
b. Identified significant terms and deliverables in the contract to assess management's conclusions regarding the (i) identification of distinct performance obligations; (ii) changes to costs to complete as work progresses and as a consequence of change orders; (iii) the impact of change orders on the transaction price; and (iv) the evaluation of the adjustment to the transaction price on account of variable consideration.
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Revenue recognition
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- accounting for construction contracts
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c. Compared costs incurred with Company's estimates of costs incurred to date to identify significant
variations and evaluated whether those variations have been considered appropriately in estimating the remaining costs to complete the contract.
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d. Tested the estimate for consistency with the status of delivery of milestones and customer acceptance to identify possible delays in achieving milestones, which require changes in estimated costs or efforts to complete the remaining performance obligation.
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Measurement of contract assets in respect of overdue milestones and receivables in respect of overdue invoices.
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Key audit matter description
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The Company, in its contract with customers, promises to transfer distinct services to its customers, which may be rendered in the form of engineering, procurement, and construction ("EPC") services through design-build contracts, and other forms of construction contracts. The recognition of revenue is based on contractual terms, which could be based on agreed unit price or lump-sum revenue arrangements. At each reporting date, revenue is accrued for costs incurred against work performed that may not have been invoiced. Identifying whether the Company's performance has resulted in a service that would be billable and collectable where the works carried out have not been acknowledged by customers as of the reporting date, or in the case of certain Defence contracts, where the evidence of work carried out and cost incurred are covered by confidentiality arrangements, involves a significant judgement. Assessing the recoverability of contract assets related to overdue milestones and amounts overdue against invoices raised which have remained unsettled for a significantly long period after the end of the contractual credit period also involves a significant amount of judgment. Refer to Note Nos. [1](lI)(e), [1](II)(m), 11 and 16 to the Standalone Financial Statements
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Principal Audit Procedures
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Our audit procedures related to the (1) evaluation of evidence supporting the execution of work; (2) evaluation of recoverability of the overdue amounts including the impact on the expected credit loss allowance; and (3) assessment of adjusting events after the reporting date i.e. March 31,2024 and the date when the financial statements are approved by the Company's Board of Directors included the following amongst others:
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• We tested the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of internal controls relating to the (a) gathering and evaluation of evidence supporting the execution of work; (b) evaluation of recoverability of the overdue amounts including the impact on the expected credit loss allowance; and (c) assessment of adjusting events after the reporting date i.e. March 31, 2024 and the date when the financial statements are approved by the Board of Directors and the impact thereof on the carrying amount of the related contract assets, measurement of contract assets in respect of overdue milestones and receivables in respect of overdue
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invoices.
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• We selected a sample of contracts assets with corresponding trade receivables that were overdue and evaluated the basis for management's conclusions regarding the (1) evidence supporting the execution of work for which the contract assets were recognised; (2) reasons for the delays in recovery of invoices and the basis on which recoverability of the contract assets was assessed; (3) impact on the allowance for expected credit losses; and (4) adjusting events after the reporting date i.e. March 31, 2024 and the date when the financial statements are approved by the Board of Directors and the impact thereof on the carrying amount of the related contract assets.
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• In respect of the sample contracts, we compared previous estimates relating to recoverability of contract assets and compared it with actual collections during the year.
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Impairment of Investment in a Subsidiary
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Key audit matter description
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As at March 31,2024, the Company held investment with a carrying amount of ? 7412.99 crore (excluding investment of ? 436.36 crore in debentures) in L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary.
This investment is carried at cost less impairment in the Company's Standalone Financial Statements. Consequent to accumulation of losses incurred by the subsidiary, the Company's management has tested this investment for impairment in accordance with Ind AS 36 by comparing its recoverable amount with it carrying amount as at March 31, 2024. The recoverable amount of the investment in the subsidiary is assessed based on future discounted cash flows of the subsidiary.
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We considered this as a key audit matter due to significant judgement involved in estimating future cash flows of the subsidiary and in determining the discount rate to be used. Changes in inputs and assumptions could impact the results of the impairment assessment.
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Refer to Note Nos. [1](II)(m) and 5 to the Standalone Financial Statements.
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Principal Audit Procedures
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Our audit procedures related to forecasts of future traffic, revenue, free cash flows generated, selection of the method for estimating recoverable value and discount rate for the entity:
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• We tested the effectiveness of controls over forecasts of future traffic, revenue, free cash flows and selection of the discount rate;
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• We evaluated the reasons for variation between the management's previous estimate of traffic, revenue and cash flow forecasts and obtained our understanding of the manner in which revised forecasts were obtained;
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Impairment of Investment in a Subsidiary
• With the assistance of our fair value specialists who have specialised skill and knowledge, we evaluated the reasonableness of the methodology and discount rate by testing the source information underlying the determination of the discount rate and mathematical accuracy of the calculations; and
• We performed sensitivity analysis of the discount rate to assess the extent of change in discount rate that would be required for the investment to be impaired.
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Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report Thereon ('other information')
The Board of Directors of the Company is responsible for the other information. The other information comprise the information included in the Management Discussion and Analysis, Board's Report including Annexures to Board's Report, Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report, Corporate Governance and Shareholder's Information, but does not include the Standalone Financial Statements and our auditor's report thereon.
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 and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the Standalone Financial Statements or our knowledge obtained during the course of our audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Standalone Financial Statements
The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act") with respect to the preparation of these Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance including other comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity of the Company in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including Ind AS specified under section 133 of the Act. This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company 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 statement 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, management and Board of Directors is responsible for assessing the Company'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 Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Company's Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Company's financial reporting process.
Auditor's Responsibility 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 auditor's 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 financial 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 Company has adequate internal financial controls with reference to Standalone 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 made by the management.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of management's 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 Company's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's 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 auditor's report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Company 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.
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the Company and its joint operations to express an opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audit of the financial statements of such entities or business activities included in the Standalone Financial Statements of which we are the independent auditors. For the other entities or business activities included in the Standalone Financial Statements, which have been audited by the other auditors, such other auditors remain responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audits carried out by them. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the Standalone Financial Statements that, individually or in aggregate, makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable user of the Standalone Financial Statements may be influenced. We consider quantitative materiality and qualitative factors in (i) planning the scope of our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work; and (ii) to evaluate the effect of any identified misstatements in the Standalone Financial Statements.
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 financial controls 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 auditor's 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.
Other Matters
• We did not audit the financial information of 30 joint operations included in the Standalone Financial Statements of the company whose
financial information reflects total assets of X 3509.61 crore as at March 31, 2024, total revenues of X 4434.70 crore and net cash
flows of X (377.92) crore for the year ended March 31, 2024, respectively, as considered in the Standalone Financial Statements. The financial information of these joint operations has been audited by the other auditors whose reports have been furnished to us by the Management of the Company, and our opinion in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these joint operations and our report in terms of subsection (3) of Section 143 of the Act, in so far as it relates to the aforesaid joint operations, is based solely on the reports of such other auditors and the procedures performed by us as stated under Auditor's Responsibilities section above.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements and our report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements below is not modified in respect of the these matters.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
1. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, based on our audit and based on the consideration of the reports of other auditors on the
separate financial information of the joint operations, referred to in Other Matters section above we report, to the extent applicable 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.
b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company and its joint operation companies so far as it appears from our examination of those books and the reports of the other auditors.
c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss including Other Comprehensive Income, the Statement of Cash Flows and Statement of Changes in Equity dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the relevant books of account.
d) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements comply with the Ind AS specified under Section 133 of the Act.
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 is disqualified as on March 31, 2024 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
f) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Financial Statements of the Company and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure A". Our report expresses an unmodified opinion on the adequacy and operating effectiveness of the Company's internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Financial Statements.
g) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with the requirements of section 197(16) of the Act, as amended:
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the remuneration paid by the Company to its directors during the year is in accordance with the provisions of section 197 of the Act.
h) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with Rule 11 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, as amended, in our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us:
i. The Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its Standalone Financial Statements (Refer Note No 29 to the Standalone Financial Statements);
ii. The Company 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;
iii. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company;
iv. a. The Management has represented that, to the best of it's knowledge and belief, no funds have been advanced or loaned
or invested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the Company 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, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Company ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries;
b. The Management has represented, that, to the best of it's knowledge and belief, no funds have been received by the Company from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities ("Funding Parties"), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company shall, 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; and
c. Based on the audit procedures that has been 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 (i) and (ii) of Rule 11(e) contain any material mis-statement; and
v. The amount of dividend is in accordance with Section 123 of the Act.
a) The final dividend paid by the Company during the year in respect of the same declared for the previous year and the interim dividend declared and paid by the Company during the year is in accordance with Section 123 of the Companies Act 2013 to the extent it applies to payment of dividend.
b) As stated in note 17 to the financial statements, the Board of Directors of the Company have proposed final dividend for the year which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The amount of dividend declared is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to declaration of dividend.
vi. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company has used accounting software(s) for maintaining its books of account for the financial year ended March 31,2024, which have a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software(s). Further, during the course of our audit, we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.
As proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable from April 1,2023, reporting under Rule 11(g) of Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 on preservation of audit trail as per the statutory requirements for record retention is not applicable for the financial year ended March 31,2024.
2. As required by the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 ("the Order") issued by the Central Government in terms of Section 143(11) of the Act, we give in "Annexure B" a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order.
For DELOITTE HASKINS & SELLS LLP
Chartered Accountants
(Firm's Registration No.117366W/W-100018)
Rupen K. Bhatt
Partner
(Membership No. 046930)
UDIN: 24046930BKEZVP9659
Place: Mumbai
Date: May 08, 2024
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