csb bank ltd share price Auditors report

To the Members of

CSB Bank Limited

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of CSB Bank Limited (the "Bank"), which comprise the balance sheet as at 31 March 2023, the profit and loss account, the cash flow statement for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of the 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 as well as the Companies Act, 2013 (the "Act") 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, of the state of affairs of the Bank as at 31 March 2023, 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 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 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 obtained by us, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 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.

Description of Key Audit Matter

Key audit matter	How the matter was addressed in our audit
Provisions on advances
Charge: 449,455 thousand for year ended 31 March 2023
Provision: 3,793,272 thousand as at 31 March 2023
Refer to the accounting policies in "Note 3 to the Financial Statements: Significant Accounting Policies - Use of estimates" and "Schedule 9 and Schedule 5 to the Financial Statements: Advances and Other Liabilities and Provisions"
Subjective estimate	Our key audit procedures included:
	Design / controls
Provisions in respect of non-performing and restructured advances are made based on the policy approved by the Board of Directors of the Bank based on managements assessment of the degree of impairment of the advances subject to the minimum provisioning levels prescribed under the Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification & Provisioning, prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (the "RBI")from time to time.	• Assessing the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of key internal financial controls over monitoring of watch list loans, including monitoring process of overdue loans (and those which became overdue subsequent to the reporting date), measurement of provision, identification of NPA accounts, assessing the reliability of management information, which included overdue reports.
	• Understanding managements approach, interpretation, systems and controls implemented in relation to NPA computation.
	• For corporate loans, tested controls over the monitoring of the credit watch list, credit file review processes, approval of external collateral valuation vendors and review controls over the approval of significant individual impairments.
The provisions on non-performing assets (NPAs) are also based on the valuation of the security available.	• Evaluating the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of key internal controls over the valuation of the securities for the NPAs, standard accounts and watch list cases.
In case of restructured accounts, provision is made in accordance with the RBI guidelines.	• Tested review controls over measurement of provisions including documentation of the relevant approvals along with basis and rationale of the provision and disclosures in financial statements.
We have identified provision on advances as a key audit matter because of the management judgement involved in determining the provision and the valuation of the security available on NPAs and because of its significance to the financial results of the Bank.	• Involved information system specialist to gain comfort over data integrity and calculations, including system interface reconciliations.
The Banks advance portfolio majorly comprises of gold loans which are disbursed against the pledge of gold jewellery. Further, considering gold as the security, existence of gold, both physical security as well as purity, is considered to be critical focus areas for the Bank.	• Tested key controls operating over the information technology in relation to NPA systems, including system access and system change management, program development and computer operations.
Management assessment of contingency provision held for any credit loss contingencies as at 31 March 2023.	• Understanding the Banks policy over appointment of external appraiser for gold loans and storage of pledged gold and assessing the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of key controls.
	Substantive tests
	• Test of details over of calculation of NPA provisions, including provisions on restructured loans, as at the year-end for assessing the completeness, accuracy and relevance of data and to ensure that the same is in compliance with the Banks NPA provision policy and Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification & Provisioning.
	• Tested samples (based on quantitative and qualitative thresholds) of larger sized corporate clients where impairment indicators had been identified by management. Obtaining managements assessment of the recoverability of these exposures (including individual provisions calculations) and challenging whether individual impairment provisions, or lack of, were appropriate.
	This included the following procedures:
	• Evaluating the statement of accounts, approval process, board minutes, credit review of customer, review of SMA reports and other related documents to assess recoverability and the classification of the facility.
	• Assessed external collateral valuers work and the results and comparing external valuations to values used in managements assessment.
	• For a selection of corporate loans not identified as displaying indicators of impairment by management, challenged this assessment by reviewing the historical performance of the customer and formed our own view whether any impairment indicators were present.
	• For selection of samples for gold loans, inspected external appraisers valuation report certifying the purity of the pledged gold and checked the quantity and weight mentioned in the valuation report
	• Conducted physical site visits for checking the existence of pledged gold.
	• Evaluating management rationale for the assessment of contingency provision for any credit loss contingencies.
Information technology system and controls	We involved IT specialists, to cover the following key audit procedures:
The Banks key financial accounting and reporting processes are highly dependent on information systems including automated controls in systems, such that there exists a risk that gaps in the IT control environment could result in the financial accounting and reporting records being materially misstated.	• We focused on user access management, change management, segregation of duties, system interface/reconciliation controls, IT application controls, Information Provided by the entity (IPE) controls over key financial accounting and reporting systems.
Amongst its multiple IT systems, we scoped in systems that are key for the overall financial reporting.
We have identified ‘IT systems and automated controls as key audit matter because of considerable level of automation and number of systems being used by management.	• We tested a selection of key controls operating over the information technology in relation to financial accounting and reporting systems, including system access, system change management and computer operations.
	• We tested the design and operating effectiveness of key controls over user access management which includes granting access right, new user creation, removal of user rights and preventative controls designed to enforce segregation of duties.
	• For a selected group of key controls over financial and reporting systems, we have performed procedures to determine that these controls remained unchanged during the year or were changed following the standard change management process.
	• We have also assessed other areas which include password policies, system interface controls, controls over changes to applications and databases and controls to ensure that business users, developers and production support did not have access to change applications, the operating system or databases in the production environment.
	• In certain areas where General IT Controls needed strengthening, we tested compensating manual controls to check whether the control objectives are met.

Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditors Report Thereon

The Banks Management and the Board of Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Banks annual report, but does not include the financial statements and our auditors report thereon. The Banks Annual report is expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditors report.

Our opinion on the 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 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 in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

When we read the Banks Annual Report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are required to communicate the matter to those charged with governance.

Managements and Board of Directors Responsibilities for the Financial Statements

The Banks Management and the Board of Directors are responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation of these financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs, profit/loss 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 the Reserve Bank of India 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 financial statements that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, management and the Board of Directors are responsible for assessing the Banks 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 Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Banks financial reporting process.

Auditors Responsibilities 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 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 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 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 management and the Board of Directors.

• Conclude on the appropriateness of management and the Board of Directors use of the going concern basis of accounting in preparation of financial statements and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Banks 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 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 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.

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 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 balance sheet and the 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.

1. The report does not include a statement on the matters specified on paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Companies (Auditors Report) Order, 2020 ("the Order") issued by the Central Government of India in terms of Section 143(11) of the Act, since in our opinion and according to the information and explanation given to us, the said Order is not applicable to the Bank.

2. 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 27 branches in total.

3. (A) 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;

b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company so far as it appears from our examination of those books;

c) The balance sheet, the profit and loss account, and the cash flow statement dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account;

d) in our opinion, the aforesaid financial statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the accounting policies prescribed by the RBI;

e) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on 31 March 2023 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on 31 March 2023 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 financial statements of the Bank and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure A".

(B) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditors Report in accordance with Rule3 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:

a) The Bank has disclosed the impact of pending litigations as at 31 March 2023 on its financial position in its financial statements - Refer Schedule 12 and Notes 3.13 to the financial statements;

b) 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 and Notes 3.13 to the financial statements;

c) There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Bank;

d) (i) The Management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the Note 4.10 (a) 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 persons or entities, 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.

(ii) The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the Note 4.10 (b) to the financial statements, no funds have been received by the Bank from any persons or entities, 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.

(iii) 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 (i) and (ii) above, contain any material misstatement. e) The Bank has neither declared nor paid any dividend during the year. f) As proviso to rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable for the Bank only with effect from 1 April 2023, reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 is not applicable.

(C) 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 the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Accordingly, the requirements prescribed under Section 197 of the Act are not applicable.

Annexure A to the Independent Auditors report on the financial statements of CSB Bank Limited for the year ended 31 March 2023 Report on the internal financial controls with reference to the aforesaid financial statements under Clause (i) of Sub-section 3 of Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013

(Referred to in paragraph (3)(f) under ‘Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements section of our report of even date)

Opinion

We have audited the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements of CSB Bank Limited (the "Bank") as of 31 March 2023 in conjunction with our audit of the financial statements of the Bank for the year ended on that date.

In our opinion, the Bank has, in all material respects, adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements and such internal financial controls were operating effectively as at 31 March 2023, based on the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements criteria established by the Bank considering the essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Note on Audit of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial Reporting issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (the "Guidance Note").

Managements Responsibility for Internal Financial Controls

The Banks management and the Board of Directors are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal financial controls based on the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements criteria established by the Bank considering the essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Note. These responsibilities include the design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls that were operating effectively for ensuring the orderly and efficient conduct of its business, including adherence to Banks policies, the safeguarding of its assets, the prevention and detection of frauds and errors, the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, and the timely preparation of reliable financial information, as required under the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act").

Auditors Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Banks internal financial controls with reference to financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Guidance Note and the Standards on Auditing, prescribed under section 143(10) of the Act, to the extent applicable to an audit of internal financial controls with reference to financial statements.

Those Standards and the Guidance Note require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements were established and maintained and whether such controls operated effectively in all material respects.

Our audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements and their operating effectiveness. Our audit of internal financial controls with reference to financial statements included obtaining an understanding of such internal financial controls, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk.

The procedures selected depend on the auditors judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion on the Banks internal financial controls with reference to financial statements.

Meaning of Internal Financial controls with Reference to Financial Statements

The Banks internal financial controls with reference to financial statements is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The Banks internal financial controls with reference to financial statements include those policies and procedures that

(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Bank;

(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Bank are being made only in accordance with authorisations of management and directors of the Bank; and

(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorised acquisition, use, or disposition of the Banks assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Inherent Limitations of Internal Financial controls with Reference to Financial Statements

Because of the inherent limitations of internal financial controls with reference to financial statements, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected. Also, projections of any evaluation of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements to future periods are subject to the risk that the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

For B S R & Co. LLP	For Mukund M. Chitale & Co.
Chartered Accountants	Chartered Accountants
ICAI Firm Registration	ICAI Firm Registration
Number: 101248W/W-100022	Number: 106655W
Sd/-	Sd/-
Ritesh Goyal	Abhay V. Kamat
Partner	Partner
Membership No:115007	Membership No:039585
ICAI UDIN:	ICAI UDIN:
23115007BGXPOZ8855	23039585BGXBKT7375
Mumbai	Mumbai
28 April 2023	28 April 2023