To the Members of
SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
Report on the Audit of the Standalone FinancialStatementsOpinion
We have audited the accompanying Standalone Financial statements of SBI Life Insurance Company Limited (“the Company"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2024, the related Revenue Account (also called the “Policyholders' Account" or the “Technical Account"), the Profit and Loss Account (also called the “Shareholders' Account" or “Non-Technical Account") and the Receipts and Payments Account (also called the “Cash Flow Statement") for the year ended on that date, and a summary of the significant accounting policies and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as “the 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 in accordance with The Insurance Act, 1938 (the “Insurance Act"), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (the “IRDA Act"), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Preparation of Financial Statements and Auditor's Report of Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2002 (the “IRDA Financial Statements Regulations") orders/ directions/ circulars issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (the “IRDAI") and the Companies Act, 2013 (“the Act"), to the extent applicable, in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in India, as applicable to Insurance companies:
a) in the case of the Balance Sheet, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2024;
b) in the case of the Revenue Account, of the net surplus for the year ended on that date;
c) in the case of the Profit and Loss Account, of the profit for the year ended on that date; and
d) in the case of the Receipts and Payments Account, of the Receipts and Payments 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 Act. Our responsibilities under those Standards are further described in the Auditor's Responsibilities 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 we have obtained 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 period. 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.
a) Valuation of Investments (AUM March 31, 2024: 3,88,92,30,838 March 31, 2023: 3,07,33,94,060) (INR in Thousands)
(Refer Significant Accounting Policies in note no.16 B (k) (Investments) and Schedule 8, 8A and 8B, note no. 16 C (20 & 21) (Impairment of investment assets) to the standalone financial statements)
The Company's investment portfolio consists of Policyholders' investments (traditional and unit linked policy holders) and Shareholders investments.
Total investment portfolio of the Company (i.e. Assets under Management (AUM)) represents 99.02 per cent of the Company's total assets.
Investments are made and valued in accordance with the Insurance Act, 1938, IRDAI (Investment) Regulations, 2016 (“Investment Regulations"), IRDAI (Preparation of Financial Statement Regulations) 2002 (“Financial Statement Regulations"), Investment Policy of the Company and relevant Indian GAAPs.
These valuation methods use multiple observable market inputs, including observable interest rates, index levels, credit spreads, equity prices, counterparty credit quality, and corresponding market volatility levels etc.
The portfolio of quoted investments is 39.39 per cent of the Company's AUM and the portfolio of investments that are valued primarily using observable inputs is 58.80 per cent of the Company's AUM. We do not consider these investments to be at a high risk of significant misstatement, or to be subject to a
significant level of judgement because they comprise liquid, quoted investments. However, due to their materiality in the context of the standalone financial statements as a whole, they are considered to be one of the areas which had the significant impact on our overall audit strategy.
The portfolio of unquoted investments is 1.22 per cent of the Company's AUM. The valuation of unquoted investments involves judgement depending on the observability of the inputs into the valuation and further judgement in determining the appropriate valuation methodology where external pricing sources are either not readily available or are unreliable.
The valuation of these investments was considered to be one of the areas which required significant auditor attention and was one of the matter of most significance in the financial statements due to the materiality of total value of investments to the financial statements.
Auditors' Responses
Principal Audit Procedures
• We assessed appropriateness of the pricing methodologies with reference to IRDAI Investment Regulations, Financial Statement Regulations, Company's internal investment and valuation policy;
• Assessed the process and tested the operating effectiveness of the key controls, including the Company's review and approval of the estimates and assumptions used for the valuation including key authorisation and data input controls;
• Fair value is best evidenced by quoted market prices in an active market. Where quoted market prices are not available, the quoted prices of similar products or valuation models with observable market based inputs are used to estimate fair value. The calculation of estimated fair value is based on market conditions at a specific point in time and may not be reflective of future fair values.
• For quoted investments, the valuation was done in accordance with the independent pricing sources / market prices in an active market;
• For unquoted investments, we critically evaluated the valuation assessment and resulting conclusions in order to determine the appropriateness of the valuations recorded with reference to the assessment made by the management for such valuation.
b) Information technology systems and controls (IT Controls)
All insurance companies are highly dependent on technology due to the significant number of transactions that are processed daily. A significant part of the Company's financial processes is heavily
reliant on IT systems with automated processes and controls over the capturing, valuing and recording of transactions. Thus, there exists a risk that gaps in the IT control environment could result in the financial accounting and reporting records being materially misstated.
The Company uses several systems for its overall financial reporting. We have identified 'IT systems and controls' as key audit matter because of significant use of IT system and the scale and complexity of the IT architecture.
Auditors' Responses
Principal Audit Procedures
• Sampletestingofkey controloverITsystems having impact on financial accounting and reporting;
• Assessed the IT system processes for effectiveness of some of the key controls with respect to financial accounting and reporting records by sample testing; and
• Our audit approach relies on automated controls and therefore procedures are designed to test control over IT systems, segregation of duties, interface and system application controls over key financial accounting and reporting systems.
• Reviewed the report of independent information system auditors which has further confirmed the various system control measures adopted by the Company.
c) Contingent Liabilities and Litigations
(Refer Significant Accounting Policies in note no. 16 B (r) (Provisions and contingent liabilities) and note no. 16 C (1) to the standalone financial statements)
The Company has pending litigation matters with various appellate authorities and at different forums. The same involves judgements in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards to determine the final outcome of such open litigation matters.
The management with the help of its experts, as needed, have made judgments relating to the likelihood of an obligation arising and whether there is a need to recognize a provision or disclose a contingent liability. We therefore focused on this area as a result of uncertainty and potential material impact.
Auditors' Responses
Principal Audit Procedures
• We read the various regulatory correspondences and related documents pertaining to litigation cases and corroborated them with our understanding of legal position as per various statues;
• We obtained legal opinion sought by management from the independent legal counsel including opinion of our own team to review
the sustainability of the dispute. We discussed the status and potential exposures in respect of significant litigation with the company's internal legal team and obtaining details regarding the progress of various litigations including management views on the likely outcome of each litigation and the magnitude of potential exposure;
• The various litigation matters were reviewed in order to assess the facts and circumstances and to identify the potential exposures and to satisfy ourselves that it is not probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required, or in certain cases where the amount cannot be estimated reliably, such obligation is disclosed by the company as a contingent liability.
Information Other than the Standalone Financial Statements and Auditor's Report Thereon
The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Management Discussion and Analysis, Directors' Report including Annexures to Directors' Report, Corporate Governance and Shareholder's Information, but does not include the standalone financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The other information is expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditor's report.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does not cover the other information and we will 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 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 a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. 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.
Management's Responsibility for the Standalone Financial Statements
The Company's Board of Directors is 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 Balance Sheet, the related Revenue Account, the Profit and Loss Account and the Receipts and Payments Account of the Company in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the provisions of The Insurance Act as amended from time to time, the IRDA Act, the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations, orders/directions/circulars issued
by IRDAI in this regard and the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act read with Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 further amended by Companies (Accounting Standards) Amendment Rules, 2016, to the extent applicable.
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 the 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, management 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 management either intends to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing the Company's financial reporting process.
Auditor's 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 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 controls 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 system 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 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.
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 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 Matter
The actuarial valuation of liabilities for life policies in force and for policies in respect of which premium has been discontinued but liability exists as at March 31, 2024 is the responsibility of the Company's Appointed Actuary (the “Appointed Actuary"). The actuarial valuation of these liabilities for life policies in force and for policies in respect of which premium has been discontinued but liability exists as at March 31, 2024 has been duly certified by the Appointed Actuary, and in his opinion, the assumptions for such valuation are in accordance with the guidelines and norms issued by IRDAI and the Institute of Actuaries of India in concurrence with the Authority. Accordingly, we have relied upon the Appointed Actuary's certificate in this regard for forming our opinion on the valuation of liabilities for life policies in force and for policies in respect of which premium has been discontinued but liability exists as contained in the standalone financial statements of the Company (Refer Note no. 5 of Schedule 16(C)).
Our opinion is not modified in respect of the above.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
1. As required by the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations, we have issued a separate certificate dated April 26, 2024 certifying the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule C to the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations.
2. As required under section 143(5) of the Act, based on our audit as aforesaid, we enclose herewith as per Annexure I, a report on the directions including additional directions issued by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India ('C& AG') action taken thereon and its impact on the accounts and financial statements of the company.
3. As required under the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations, read with 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 purpose of our audit;
(b) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, proper books of accounts as required by law have been kept by the Company so far as it appears from our examination of those books;
(c) As the Company's financial accounting system is centralized at Head Office, no returns are prepared at the branches and other offices of the company;
(d) The Balance Sheet, the Revenue Account, the Profit and Loss Account and the Receipts and Payments Account dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account;
(e) The actuarial valuation of liabilities for life policies in force and for policies in respect of which premium has been discontinued but liability exists as at March 31, 2024 has been duly certified by the Appointed Actuary. The Appointed Actuary has also certified that, in his opinion, the assumptions for such valuation are in accordance with the guidelines and norms issued by IRDAI and the Institute of Actuaries of India in concurrence with the Authority;
(f) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified under section 133 of the Act, read with Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 further amended by Companies (Accounting Standards) Amendment Rules, 2016, to the extent not inconsistent with the accounting principles prescribed in the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations and orders/ directions/circulars issued by IRDAI in this regard;
(g) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, investments have been valued in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Act, the Regulations and orders / directions issued by IRDAI in this regard;
(h) In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the accounting policies selected by the Company are appropriate and are in compliance with the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act to the extent not inconsistent with the accounting principles prescribed in the IRDA Financial Statements Regulations and orders/ directions/circulars issued by IRDAI in this regard;
(i) On the basis of written representations received from the directors and 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;
(j) 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 Annexure 'II' to this report;
(k) With respect to the other matter 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 read with Section 34A of the Insurance Act,1938. The remuneration paid to any director is not in excess of the limit laid down under Section 197 of the Act read with Section 34A of the Insurance Act,1938. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has not prescribed other details under Section 197(16) which are required to be commented upon by us.;
(l) 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, 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 1 & 2 of Part C of Schedule16;
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 if any, including derivative contracts - Refer Note 35 of Part C of Schedule 16;
iii) There are no amounts which are required to be transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company during the year ended March 31, 2024;
iv) (A) The management has represented
that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, the Company have not advanced or loaned or invested from any kind of funds 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 its knowledge and belief, the Company have not received funds 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;
(C) Based on the 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 (iv) (A) and (B) contain any material mis-statement.
v) The dividend declared or paid during the year by the Company is in compliance with section 123 of the Companies Act, 2013.
vi) Based on our examination which included test checks, the company has used an
accounting software for maintaining its books of accounts which has 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. Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instances 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 the 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.
For S K Patodia & Associates LLP For S A R C & Associates
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
Firm Regn. No. 112723W/ W100962 Firm Regn. No.006085N
Ankush Goyal Kamal Aggarwal
Partner Partner
Membership No. 146017 Membership No. 90129
UDIN: 24146017NKESBZ7170 UDIN: 24090129BKENFQ9235
Place: Mumbai Place: Mumbai
Date: April 26, 2024 Date: April 26, 2024
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