To the Members of Crisil Limited
Report on the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
Opinion
1. We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Crisil Limited (‘the Company’), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2024, the Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), the Statement of Cash Flow and the Statement of Changes in Equity for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial statements, including material accounting policy information and other explanatory information, in which are included the returns for the year ended on that date audited by the branch auditors of the Company’s branches located at Dubai (U.A.E.) and Cambodia.
2. In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, and based on the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to in paragraph 15 below, the aforesaid standalone financial statements give the information required by the Companies Act, 2013 (‘the Act’) in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the Indian Accounting Standards (‘Ind AS’) specified under section 133 of the Act read with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 and other accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at 31 December 2024, and its profit (including other comprehensive income), its cash flows and the changes in equity for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing 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 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 together with the audit evidence obtained by the branch auditors, in terms of their reports referred to in paragraph 15 of the Other Matter section below is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Key Audit Matter
4. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, and based on the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to paragraph 15 below, 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 financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
5. We have determined the matter 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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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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Revenue recognition
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Our audit of the recognition of contract revenue included, but
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The Company’s income from operations comprises of income from global research and analytical services, customized research, special assignments and subscriptions to information products and services, revenue from initial public offering (IPO) grading services, independent equity research (IER) services, infrastructure advisory and risk management services. Refer Note 2.14 to the standalone financial statements, for details of revenue recognized during the year.
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was not limited to, the following:
• Obtained an understanding of the revenue and receivable business process, and assessed the appropriateness of the revenue recognition policies adopted by the Company;
• Evaluated key controls around the recognition of contract revenue. Tested the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of these identified key controls during the year and as at the year-end;
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Key audit matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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The application of the accounting standard is complex
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• On a sample of contracts, tested the revenue recognition and
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and an area of focus in the audit, as it involved
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our procedures included:
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application of significant judgments and estimates
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• reviewing the contract terms and conditions;
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relating to identification of distinct performance
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obligations, determination of transaction price of
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• evaluating the identification of performance obligations
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identified performance obligation, the appropriateness
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of the contract;
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of the basis used to measure revenue recognized
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• evaluating the appropriateness of management’s
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over a period. Additionally, the standard mandates
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assessment of manner of satisfaction of performance
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robust disclosures in respect of revenue and periods
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obligations and consequent recognition of revenue; and
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over which the remaining performance obligations
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will be satisfied subsequent to the balance sheet.
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• evaluating the reasonableness of the estimates involved in the recognition of revenue including in determining
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Due to the significance of the item to the financial
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revenue from infrastructure advisory and risk
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statements, complexities involved, and management
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management services in accordance with the percentage
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judgment involved for ensuring appropriateness of
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of completion etc.
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accounting treatment, this matter has been identified
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as a key audit matter for the current year’s audit.
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• Tested revenue recognition for cut off transactions on sample basis to assess whether the timing of revenue recognition is appropriate; and
• Evaluated the appropriateness and adequacy of the disclosures made in the accompanying standalone financial statements for revenue recorded during the year with the relevant accounting standards under the Ind AS framework. This also included evaluating the completeness and accuracy of the information provided.
• Assessed whether the disclosures provided sufficient information for users to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers.
• Evaluated the adequacy of the disclosures related to the significant judgments and estimates made by management in applying the revenue recognition policies. This included assessing whether the Company provided sufficient information about the key judgments and estimates that could significantly affect the amount and timing of revenue recognition.
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Information other than the Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report thereon
6. The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Directors’ Report, but does not include the standalone financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the standalone financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the standalone financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the 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.
Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Standalone Financial Statements
7. The accompanying standalone financial statements have been ap proved by the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation and presentation of these standalone financial statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance including other comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows of the Company in accordance with the Ind AS specified under section 133 of the Act and other accounting principles generally accepted in India. This responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding of the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities; selection and application of appropriate accounting policies; making judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls, that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, relevant to the preparation and presentation of the financial statements that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
8. In preparing the financial statements, the Board of Directors is responsible for assessing the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accou nting un less the Board of Directors either intends to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
9. The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing the Company’s financial reporting process.
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
10. 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 Standards on Auditing 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.
11. As part of an audit in accordance with Standards on Auditing, specified under section 143(10) of the Act 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, i ntentionai 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 Company 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;
• Conclude on the appropriateness of Board of Directors’ 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 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 financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation; and
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial statements of the Company and its branches to express an opinion on the financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audit of financial statements of the Company, of which we are the independent auditors. For the branches included in the financial statements, which have been audited by the branch auditors, such branch auditors remain responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audits carried out by them. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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
15. We did not audit the financial statements of two (2) branches included in the standalone financial statements of the Company whose financial statements reflects total assets of ' 1,238 lakhs
as at 31 December 2024, and the total revenues of ' 2,259 lakhs, total net profit after tax of ' 169 lakhs, total comprehensive income of ' 456 lakhs, and cash outflows (net) of ' 151 lakhs respectively for the year ended on that date, as considered in the standalone financial statements. These financial statements have been audited by the branch auditors whose reports have been furnished to us by the management, and our opinion on the standalone financial statements, in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of branches, and our report in terms of sub-section (3) of section 143 of the Act in so far as it relates to the aforesaid branches, is based solely on the report of such branch auditors.
Further these branches are located outside India whose financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in their respective countries and which have been audited by branch auditors under generally accepted auditing standards applicable in their respective countries. The Company’s management has converted the financial statements of such branches from accounting principles generally accepted in their respective countries to accounting principles generally accepted in India. We have audited these conversion adjustments made by the Company’s management. Our opinion on the standalone financial statements, in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of such branches, is based on the report of branch auditors and the conversion adjustments prepared by the management of the Company and audited by us.
Our opinion above on the standalone financial statements, and our report on other legal and regulatory requirements below, are not modified in respect of the above matters with respect to our reliance on the work done by and the reports of the branch auditors.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
16. As required by section 197(16) of the Act based on our audit, and on the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to in paragraph 15 above, we report that the Company has paid remuneration to its directors during the year in accordance with the provisions of and limits laid down under section 197 read with Schedule V to the Act.
17. As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020 (‘the Order’) issued by the Central Government
of India in terms of section 143(11) of the Act we give in the Annexure I a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
18. Further to our comments in Annexure I, as required by section 143(3) of the Act based on our audit, and on the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to in paragraph 15 above, we report, to the extent applicable, that:
a) We have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purpose of our audit of the accompanying standalone financial statements;
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 and proper returns adequate for the purposes of our audit have been received from the branches not visited by us;
c) The reports on the accounts of the branch offices of the Company audited under section 143(8) of the Act by the branch auditors have been sent to us and have been properly dealt with by us in preparing this report;
d) The standalone financial statements dealt with by this report are in agreement with the books of account and with the returns received from the branches not visited by us;
e) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with Ind AS specified under section 133 of the Act;
f) 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 31 December 2024 from being appointed as a director in terms of section 164(2) of the Act;
g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements of the Company as on 31 December 2024 and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate report in Annexure II wherein we have expressed an unmodified opinion; and
h) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with rule 11 of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended), in our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us and based on the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to in paragraph 15 above:
i. the Company, as detailed in note 37 to the standalone financial statements, has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position as at 31 December 2024;
ii. the Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for which there were any material foreseeable losses as at 31 December 2024;
iii. there has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company during the year ended 31 December 2024;
iv. a. The management has represented
that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in note 50(viii) to the standalone financial statements, no funds have been advanced or loaned or invested (either from borrowed funds or securities premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the Company to or in any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (‘the intermediaries’), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the intermediary shall, whether, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Company (‘the Ultimate Beneficiaries’) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf the Ultimate Beneficiaries;
b. The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in note 50(ix) to the standalone financial statements, no funds have been received by
the Company from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities (‘the Funding Parties’), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company shall, whether directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party (‘Ultimate Beneficiaries’) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries; and
c. Based on such audit procedures performed as considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that the management representations under sub-clauses (a) and (b) above contain any material misstatement.
v. The interim dividend declared and paid by the Company during the year ended 31 December 2024 is in compliance with section 123 of the Act
The final dividend paid by the Company during the year ended 31 December 2024 in respect of such dividend declared for the previous year is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to payment of dividend; and
As stated in note 45 to the accompanying standalone financial statements, the Board of Directors of the Company have proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The dividend declared is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to declaration of dividend.
vi. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company, in respect of financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2024, has used an accounting and contract management software for maintaining its books of account which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has been 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 instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.
For Walker Chandiok & Co LLP
Chartered Accountants
Firm’s Registration No.: 001076N/N500013
Manish Gujral
Partner
Membership No.: 105117
UDIN: 251051 17BMOLIU5646
Place: Mumbai
Date: 10 February 2025
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