1. We have audited the accompanying Standalone Financial Statements of Axis Bank Limited (‘the Bank'), which comprisethe Standalone Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2026, the Standalone Profit And Loss Account, and the Standalone CashFlow Statement for the year ended on that date, and notes to the Standalone Financial Statements, including a summaryof the significant accounting policies and other explanatory information (‘the Standalone Financial Statements').
2. In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid StandaloneFinancial Statements give the information required by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, as well as the Companies Act,2013 (‘the Act') and circulars and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (‘the RBI'), in the manner so required forbanking companies and give a true and fair view in conformity with the Accounting Standards prescribed under section133 of the Act, read with the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021 (‘AS') and other accounting principlesgenerally accepted in India, of the State of Affairs of the Bank as at 31 March 2026, and its profit and its Cash Flows forthe year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (‘SAs') specified under section 143(10) of theAct. Our responsibilities under those SAs are further described in the Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of theStandalone Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Bank, in accordance with the Code ofEthics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (‘ICAI’) together with the ethical requirements that arerelevant to our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements under the provisions of the Act, and the Rules thereunder,and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the Code of Ethics.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Key Audit Matters
4. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment were of most significance in our audit of theStandalone Financial Statements of the current year. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of theStandalone Financial Statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separateopinion on these matters.
We have determined the matters described below to be the Key Audit Matters:
Key Audit Matter
How the matter was addressed in our audit
1. Information Technology (IT) Systems and controls over financial reporting
As the Bank operates on core banking
In assessing the controls over the IT systems of the Bank, we involved our technology
solution across its branches and asset centres,
specialists to understand the IT control environment, IT infrastructure and IT systems.
the reliability and security of InformationTechnology (“IT”) systems plays a key rolein the business operations. Since largevolume of transactions are processed daily,
We conducted an assessment and identified key IT systems that are critical foraccounting and financial reporting process and are relevant for our audit and testedtheir internal controls. In particular:
the IT controls are required to ensure that
• We obtained an understanding of the Bank's IT control environment and key
applications process data as expected and
changes during the audit period that may be relevant to the audit;
that changes are made in an appropriate
• We tested the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of the Bank's
General IT controls over the key IT systems that are critical to accounting and
IT infrastructure is critical for smooth
financial reporting. This included evaluation of Bank's controls for user access
functioning and accurate accounting and
management, program change management, database management, network
financial reporting process.
operations, incident management and other IT operations performed by the Bankduring the period of audit;
Due to the pervasive nature and complexity of
•
We tested key automated and manual business cycle controls and logic for system
the IT environment, we have ascertained key
generated reports relevant to the audit; and
IT systems used in financial reporting processand its related controls as a key audit matter.
We also tested compensating controls and performed alternate procedures toassess whether there were any unaddressed IT risks that would materially impactthe financial statements.
2. Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning on Advances (IRAC) as per the regulatory requirements
Total Loans and Advances (Net of Provision) as at 31 March 2026: INR 12,33,569.88 crore
Provision for NPAs as at 31 March 2026: INR 10,677.32 crore
Refer Schedule 9, Schedule 17(4.3) and Schedule 18(1) - Note 1.4
The Bank is required to comply with the
Our audit approach included testing the design, operating effectiveness of internal
Master Circular issued by the Reserve Bank
controls and substantive audit procedures in respect of income recognition, asset
of India (‘RBI’) on 'Prudential Norms for
classification and provisioning pertaining to advances. In particular:
Income Recognition, Asset Classification andProvisioning pertaining to Advances' (the'IRAC norms') and amendments thereto (“RBI
We have evaluated and understood the Bank's internal control system in adheringto the RBI guidelines;
guidelines”) which prescribes the norms
We have analysed and understood key IT systems/ applications used and tested
for identification and classification of Non-
the design and implementation and operational effectiveness of relevant controls
performing Assets ('NPAs') and the minimum
in relation to income recognition, asset classification, viz., standard, sub-standard,
provision required for such assets.
doubtful and loss with reference to RBI guidelines and provisioning pertaining to
The Bank is also required to apply its
advances; and
judgement to determine the identification and
We test checked advances to examine the validity and accuracy of the recorded
provision required against NPAs considering
amounts, provision for NPAs, and compliance with IRAC norms of RBI.
various quantitative as well as qualitativefactors.
Assessed appropriateness & the adequacy of disclosures as per RBI guidelinesrelating to NPAs
As the identification of and provisioningagainst NPAs requires considerable level ofmanagement estimation, application of variousregulatory requirements and its significanceto the overall audit due to stakeholder andregulatory focus, we have identified this as akey audit matter.
Other Information
5. The Bank's Board of Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises theinformation included in the Bank's Annual Report but does not include the Standalone Financial Statements and ourauditor's report thereon. The Other Information included is expected to be made available to us after the date of thisauditor's report.
6. Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements does not cover the other information and we do not express anyform of assurance conclusion thereon.
7. In connection with our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements, our responsibility is to read the other informationidentified above when it becomes available and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materiallyinconsistent with the Standalone Financial Statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears tobe materially misstated.
8. When we read the other information, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are requiredto communicate the matter to those charged with governance and take appropriate action as applicable under therelevant laws and regulations.
Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Standalone FinancialStatements
9. The Bank's Management and Board of Directors are responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act, withrespect to the preparation of these Standalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view of the State of Affairs,
Profit and Cash Flows of the Bank in accordance with the Accounting Standards specified under section 133 of the Actread with the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021, and other accounting principles generally accepted inIndia and provisions of section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and circulars, guidelines and directions issuedby the RBI from time to time (‘RBI Guidelines'). This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate accountingrecords in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the RBI Guidelines for safeguarding of the assets of the Bankand for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities; selection of the appropriate accounting software forensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations including those related to retention of audit logs; selectionand 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 forensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, relevant to the preparation and presentation of theStandalone Financial Statements that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due tofraud or error.
10. In preparing the Standalone Financial Statements, the Management and the Board of Directors are responsible forassessing the Bank's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concernand using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Management and the Board of Directors either intends toliquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
11. The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Bank's financial reporting process.
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
12. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the Standalone Financial Statements as a wholeare free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes ouropinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordancewith SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and areconsidered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economicdecisions of users taken on the basis of these Standalone Financial Statements.
13. As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticismthroughout the audit. We also:
13.1. Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Standalone Financial Statements, whether due tofraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that issufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatementresulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentionalomissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
13.2. Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that areappropriate in the circumstances. Under section 143(3)(i) the Act, we are also responsible for expressing ouropinion on whether the Bank has adequate internal financial controls with reference to Standalone FinancialStatements and the operating effectiveness of such controls.
13.3. Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates andrelated disclosures made by the Management.
13.4. Conclude on the appropriateness of the Management's use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based onthe audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may castsignificant doubt on the Bank's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertaintyexists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in the StandaloneFinancial Statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based onthe audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However, future events or conditions may causethe Bank to cease to continue as a going concern.
13.5. Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the Standalone Financial Statements, including thedisclosures, and whether the Standalone Financial Statements represent the underlying transactions and eventsin a manner that achieves fair presentation.
14. We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timingof the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identifyduring our audit.
15. We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethicalrequirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that mayreasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
16. From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of mostsignificance in the audit of the Standalone Financial Statements for the current year and are therefore the key auditmatters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure aboutthe matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in ourreport because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interestbenefits of such communication.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
17. In our opinion, the Standalone Balance Sheet and the Standalone Profit and Loss account have been drawn up inaccordance with the provisions of section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and section 133 of the Act andrelevant rules issued thereunder.
18. As required by sub-section (3) of section 30 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, based on our audit we report that:
18.1. 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 and have found them to be satisfactory;
18.2. The transactions of the Bank, which have come to our notice during the course of our audit, have been within thepowers of the Bank; and
18.3. Since the key operations of the Bank are automated with the key applications integrated to the core bankingsystem, the audit is carried out centrally, as all the necessary records and data required for the purposes of ouraudit are available therein. We have visited 67 branches (including credit units) to examine the records maintainedat such branches for the purpose of our audit.
19. Further, as required by Section 143(3) of the Act based on our audit we report, to the extent applicable, that:
19.1. We have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and beliefwere necessary for the purposes of our audit.
19.2. In our opinion, proper books of accounts as required by law have been kept by the Bank, so far as it appears fromour examination of those books.
19.3. The Standalone Balance Sheet, the Standalone Profit And Loss Account, and the Standalone Cash Flow Statementdealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.
19.4. In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial Statements comply with the Accounting Standards specifiedunder Section 133 of the Act read with the relevant rules thereunder to the extent they are not inconsistent withthe accounting policies prescribed by the RBI.
19.5. On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on 31 March 2026 taken on recordby the Board of Directors, none of the directors are disqualified as on 31 March 2026 from being appointed as adirector in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
19.6. With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to the Standalone Financial Statementsof the Bank and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in ‘Annexure A'.
19.7. With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor's Report in accordance with the requirements ofSection 197(16) of the Act, as amended; The Bank is a Banking Company as defined under Banking Regulation Act,1949. Accordingly, the requirements prescribed under Section 197 of the Act, do not apply.
20. 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:
20.1. The Bank has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its Standalone FinancialStatements - Refer Schedule 12 - Contingent Liabilities to the Standalone Financial Statements.
20.2. The Bank has made provision, as required under the applicable law or accounting standards, for material foreseeablelosses, if any, on long-term contracts including derivative contracts - Refer Schedule 5 and 12 read with Note No.2.14 of Schedule 18 to the Standalone Financial Statements.
20.3. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education andProtection Fund by the Bank.
20.4. The Management has represented, to best of their knowledge and belief, that no funds have been advanced orloaned or invested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by theBank to or in any other person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (‘Intermediaries'), with the understanding,whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall, whether, directly or indirectly lend orinvest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Bank (‘UltimateBeneficiaries') or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
20.5. The Management has represented, to best of their knowledge and belief, that no funds have been received bythe Bank from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (‘Funding Parties'), with the understanding,whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Bank shall, whether, directly or indirectly, lend or invest inother persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party (‘UltimateBeneficiaries') or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
20.6. Based on such audit procedures, that have been considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances,nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that the representation under sub-clause (i) and (ii) ofRule 11(e), as provided under para 20.4 and 20.5 above, contain any material misstatement.
20.7. In our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us, the dividend declared and / or paidduring the year by the Bank is in compliance with Section 123 of the Act.
20.8. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Bank has used various accounting software formaintaining its books of account which have feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same hasoperated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software. Further, during the course ofour audit we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.
Additionally, the audit trail has been preserved by the Bank as per the statutory requirements for record retention.
For M M Nissim & Co LLP For KKC & Associates LLP
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
Firm Registration Number: 107122W/W100672 (formerly Khimji Kunverji & Co LLP)
Firm Registration Number: 105146W/W100621
San jay Khemani Gautam Shah
Partner Partner
ICAI Membership No.: 044577 ICAI Membership No.: 117348
UDIN: 26044577RM RTE V6829 UDIN: 26117348CBRZGH1088
Place: Mumbai Place: Mumbai
Date: 25 April, 2026 Date: 25 April, 2026