New India Assurance review qualified over unreconciled balances

The New India Assurance Company Limited received a qualified limited-review conclusion for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026, because some balances remained under reconciliation, compilation and confirmation. The auditors said consequential adjustments were still pending and that their overall effect on the standalone financial results could not be ascertained.

Why was New India Assurance’s limited review qualified?

New India Assurance’s limited review was qualified because certain balances were at different stages of reconciliation, compilation and confirmation at September 30, 2026. The auditors referred to Note 5, under which adjustments arising from that process had yet to be carried out and the aggregate financial effect remained unascertainable.

The auditors did not quantify the balances under review or estimate the potential adjustment. This means the qualification identifies an unresolved measurement issue rather than a stated misstatement in a specific result line. Until confirmation and reconciliation are completed, the filing does not establish whether any eventual adjustment would increase or reduce reported figures.

S. Ramanand Aiyar & Co. and Chokshi & Chokshi LLP issued the conclusion on October 30, 2026. Except for the reconciliation matter, they said nothing had come to their attention indicating that the September 30, 2026 statement did not make disclosures required under Regulation 33 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India listing regulations or contained a material misstatement.

Was New India Assurance’s review a full audit?

No, New India Assurance underwent a limited review rather than a full audit for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026. The auditors conducted their work under Standard on Review Engagements 2410, which involves inquiries of financial and accounting personnel and analytical review procedures.

The auditors said a review provides moderate assurance and is substantially narrower in scope than an audit conducted under Standards on Auditing. They therefore did not express an audit opinion on the unaudited standalone financial results. That scope statement applies alongside, rather than removes, the qualified conclusion on balances awaiting reconciliation.

As part of the September 2026 review, the signing auditors visited eight domestic regional offices, large corporate business offices or other offices. For domestic locations not visited, they considered information made available centrally at New India Assurance’s head office; the filing does not identify the eight offices or state the balances reviewed at each one.

What foreign operations were included in New India Assurance’s results?

New India Assurance included nine foreign branches, including two foreign offices accounted for on a run-off basis, and six foreign agency offices in its September 30, 2026 standalone results. These 15 entities had total assets of Rs 12,421.37 crore at the reporting date, although the signing auditors did not directly review all of their interim financial information.

The foreign operations reported a net loss after tax of Rs 58.05 crore for the quarter and Rs 31.91 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026. Their revenue was Rs 1,050.02 crore for the quarter and Rs 2,150.11 crore for the half year.

Thirteen of the 15 foreign entities were reviewed by other auditors, while the remaining two were unaudited and represented by management certification. The two unaudited entities reported revenue of Rs 27.36 crore for the September 2026 quarter and Rs 51.45 crore for the half year, with net profit after tax of Rs 12.29 crore and Rs 9.70 crore, respectively.

What control and records issues did New India Assurance disclose?

New India Assurance disclosed that it was strengthening internal controls and internal audit, particularly in data input and validation in software and in its internal-audit system. The auditors listed this under an emphasis of matter and stated that their September 2026 conclusion was not modified in respect of it.

The filing also noted Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, which concerns audit trails and edit logs. Separately, compliance remained pending with Section 128 of the Companies Act, 2013 and related rules on maintaining books of account and other papers electronically, including maintaining the required backups.

New India Assurance said books and papers for its foreign branches were not accessible in India at all times and backups were not maintained on servers physically located in India. The report does not state how many foreign branches were affected, set a compliance date or identify a financial adjustment connected to the records issue.

These matters were distinct from Note 5’s unreconciled balances. The foreign-record and internal-control matters were highlighted for attention without modifying the conclusion, whereas the inability to ascertain the effect of pending balance adjustments was the stated basis for the qualified conclusion.

What other matters did New India Assurance’s auditors highlight?

New India Assurance disclosed tax-related contingent liabilities of Rs 10,614.72 crore for income-tax, goods and services tax, and service-tax demands. No provision was made because the company had received favourable judgments, but the matters remained sub judice before appellate authorities and the Bombay High Court.

The filing also reported deferred tax expense of Rs 61.29 crore following New India Assurance’s irrevocable choice of the new tax regime under Section 200 of the Income Tax Act, 2025. The auditors treated both the tax disclosure and the contingent liabilities as emphasis-of-matter items and did not modify their conclusion for them.

A change in the reporting periods of the Bangkok and Fiji branches from January-to-December calendar years to an April-to-March financial year increased revenue by Rs 119.95 crore and increased net loss by Rs 2.26 crore. The adjustment aligns those branch reporting periods with the company’s financial-year cycle.

The auditors also relied on the appointed actuary’s certificate for liabilities relating to incurred but not reported claims, incurred but not enough reported claims and the premium deficiency reserve. The appointed actuary certified that the assumptions used at September 30, 2026 were in accordance with guidelines and norms issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India and the Institute of Actuaries of India.

Conclusion

New India Assurance’s September 2026 filing combines a qualified limited-review conclusion with disclosures on foreign records, internal controls, tax disputes and actuarial liabilities. The qualification is confined to balances for which reconciliation, compilation and confirmation remain incomplete, leaving the effect of necessary adjustments unknown.

Readers should watch New India Assurance’s stated effort to strengthen data-input validation and internal audit, and any later disclosure on completing the Note 5 reconciliations. The filing sets no completion date or adjustment estimate, while foreign-branch electronic-record compliance remains pending and the Rs 10,614.72 crore contingent liabilities continue before appellate authorities and the Bombay High Court.