We have audited the accompanying financial statements of ESAF SMALL FINANCE BANK LIMITED ("the Bank"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2024, Profit and Loss Account, the Cash Flow Statement for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information.
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid financial statements give the information required by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the Companies Act, 2013 ("the Act") in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the Accounting Standards prescribed under section 133 of the Act ("Accounting Standards") as applicable to banks , the relevant circulars, guidelines and directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") from time to time and other accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Bank as at March 31, 2024, its profit and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit of the 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 Responsibility for the Audit of the 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 (ICAI) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the 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 is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion on the 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 financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the 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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Key Audit Matter
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Auditors Response
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1
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Classification of Advances, Provisioning and other relevant compliance of RBI Guidelines:
The Bank's portfolio comprises of Net Advances of 18,293 Crores as at March 31, 2024 comprising of micro- banking and retail banking. As required by Income Recognition and Asset Classification Norms (IRAC), guidelines issued by RBI and other circulars, notification and directives issued by RBI, the Bank has classified Advances and has made appropriate provisions in accordance with such guidelines. Income from Advances constitutes 3,461.32 crores 81% of Total Income. The provision in respect of NPA is ' 589.01 Crores which constitutes 19.01% of the total expenditure. The carrying value of these advances (net of provisions) may be materially misstated if, either individually or in aggregate the IRAC Norms, are not properly followed.
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• We have tested the design and operating effectiveness of the Key controls of the system, application, process over approval, recording, monitoring, recovery of loans, overdue & stressed accounts, identification of Non Performing Advances (NPA), provision of NPA including verification of valuation reports of experts for primary and collateral securities based on the understanding of the prudential guidelines a n d overall organizational IT framework of the Bank and communication through various circulars and reports.
• We have evaluated the Internal Controls over the sanctioning & monitoring process and the possible system override / circumvention to such controls supervisory framework such as Internal Audit, Credit Audit, Concurrent Audit, Systems Audit, as well as Internal Check, effectiveness of such framework as per the policies and procedures of the bank and in compliance with prudential guidelines.
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Key Audit Matter
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Auditors Response
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Besides identification of and provisioning requirement for non- performing loans in accordance with the RBI guidelines also includes management estimates and judgement.
Since the identification of NPAs and provisioning for such advances is significant to the overall audit, we have concluded that this as a Key Audit Matter.
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• Selected samples of NPA borrowers based on quantitative and qualitative risk factors to ascertain proper classification based on the age of the NPA status including computation of overdue period to assess the correct classification and required provision as per the IRAC norms and Bank's policy.
• We have tested samples of Performing Assets for ascertaining compliance with the IRAC Norms.
• Performed inquires with the Credit and Risk department to ascertain if there were any indicators of stress or occurrence of an event of default in a loan account or any product which are to be classified as NPA.
• We have assessed the adequacy of the disclosures as prescribed in the relevant accounting standards and the RBI requirements relating to NPAs.
• With respect to contingency provision held as at March 31, 2024 towards unforeseen risk and stress emanating from certain portfolio of advances, we have tested key inputs, assumptions and methodology used by the management in estimating the required provision.
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2
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Key Information technology (IT) systems used in financial reporting process:
As Bank that operates on core banking solution ("CBS") and other loan applications across its branches, the reliability and security of IT systems plays a key role in the business operations. Since large volume of transactions are processed daily, the IT controls should ensure that all the applications process the data as expected and that changes are made in an appropriate manner.
Considering the pervasive and intricate nature of the IT environment, as well as its critical role in ensuring accurate and timely financial reporting, we have identified this area as a Key Audit Matter.
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We involved our IT specialists to obtain an understanding ofthe Bank's IT related control environment. Furthermore we conducted an assessment and identified critical key IT applications, databases and operating systems that are relevant for our audit. For the key IT systems used to prepare accounting and financial information, our areas of audit focus included access security (including controls over privileged access), program change controls, database management and network operations. In particular, the procedures followed were :
• We tested the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of the Bank's General IT controls over the key IT systems that are critical to financial reporting. This included evaluation of Bank's controls to evaluate segregation of duties and access rights given / modified based on duly approved requests, access for exit cases being revoked in a timely manner and access of all users being recertified.
• We also tested key automated and manual business cycle controls and logic for system generated reports relevant to audit; including testing of compensating controls or performed alternate procedures.
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Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report Thereon
• The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of the other information. The other information comprises the Chairman's Statement, the Directors Report including annexures to the Directors report included in the Annual Report but does not include the financial statements and our auditors report thereon and the Basel II Disclosures under New Capital Adequacy Framework (Basel II Disclosures). The Director's report is expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditor's report.
• Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and Basel II Disclosures available in the website of the Bank and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
• In connection with our audit ofthe 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 financial statements or our knowledge obtained during the course of our audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
• When we read the other information identified above, if we conclude that there is material misstatement therein, we are required to communicate the matter to those charged with governance as required under SA 720 'The Auditor's responsibilities relating to other information'
Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Financial Statements
The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation of these financial statements that gives a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the Bank in accordance with the provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Accounting Standards and other accounting principles generally accepted in India and the circulars, guidelines and the directions 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 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 financial statement that give a true and fair view and is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, management is 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 Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so. The Bank's Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing the Bank's financial reporting process.
Auditor's Responsibility for the Audit of the Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the 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 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 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 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 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 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 auditor's report to the related disclosures in the 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 Bank to cease to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the financial statements that, individually or in aggregate, makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable user of the 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 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 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 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 comparative financial information of the Bank for the previous reporting periods included in the Financial Statements have been audited by Abarna & Ananthan, Chartered Accountants, one of the joint statutory auditors of the Bank, who have expressed an unmodified opinion. Accordingly, Kirtane & Pandit LLP, Chartered Accountants, do not express any opinion on the comparative figures. Our Opinion on the Financial Statements is not modified in respect of this matter.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
1. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act and Section
30(3) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, based on
our Audit, 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, And found them to be satisfactory
b) In our opinion, the transactions of the Bank which have come to our notice have been within the powers of the bank.
c) As explained in the paragraph 2 below, the financial accounting system of the Bank is centralised and, therefore, accounting returns are not required to be submitted by branches.
d) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Bank so far as it appears from our examination of those books.
e) The Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Account and the Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.
f) In our opinion, the aforesaid financial statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act as applicable to the Banks.
g) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors and 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.
h) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements of the Bank 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 Bank's internal financial controls with reference to financial statements.
i) 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 entity being a banking company, section 197 of the Act related to the managerial remuneration is not applicable by virtue of Section 35B(2A) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
j) 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 Bank has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position as at the year-end in its financial statements - Refer Schedule 12 to the financial statements;
ii) The Bank did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts as at the year-end for which there were any material foreseeable losses.
iii) There were no amounts which were 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 it's knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the note B.16 of schedule 18 to the financial statements 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 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, 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) TheManagementhas represented, that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in Note B.16 of Schedule 18 to the financial statements, no funds 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, 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 performed that have 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), as provided under (a) and (b) above, contain any material misstatement.
v. As stated in note 18.17 to the financial statements, the Board of Directors of the Bank has proposed final dividend of Rs 0.70 per share (Previous share : Nill per share) for the year ended March 31 2024, which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The dividend proposed is in accordance with section 123 of the Act, as applicable.
vi. Based on our examination, which included test checks, the Bank has used accounting softwares for maintaining its books of account for the financial year ended March 31, 2024 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 softwares. Further, during the course of our
audit we did not come across any instance of the audit trail feature being tampered with.
2. We report that during the course of our audit we have visited and performed select relevant procedures at 46 branches. Since the Bank considers its key operations
to be automated, with the key applications largely integrated to the Core Banking System, it does not require its branches to submit any financial returns. Accordingly, our audit is carried out centrally at Head Office based on the records and data required for the purpose of Audit being made available to us.
For Abarna & Ananthan For Kirtane & Pandit LLP
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
Firm Registration No. 000003S Firm Registration No.: 105215W/W100057
Abarna Bhaskar Sandeep Welling
Partner Partner
Membership No. 025145 Membership No. 044576
UDIN: 24025145BKBNII1944 UDIN: 24044576BKAUCH3889
Place: Mannuthy Place: Mannuthy
Date: May 08, 2024 Date: May 08, 2024
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