TO
THE MEMBERS OF
IRIS BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
Your Board of Directors (Board') is pleased to
present the Twenty-fourth (24th) Annual Report of your Company, for the
financial year ended March 31, 2024.
1. SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS / RESULTS
(Amount in thousands - H)
Particulars |
Standalone |
Consolidated |
|
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
Turnover |
9,68,460 |
6,75,433 |
10,22,966 |
7,35,712 |
Other Income |
6,286 |
12,110 |
6,593 |
13,322 |
Total Expenditure |
8,78,832 |
6,41,948 |
9,27,440 |
6,97,016 |
Operating Profit (Loss) |
95,914 |
45,595 |
1,02,119 |
52,018 |
Exceptional Items |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Net Profit (Loss) before tax |
95,914 |
45,595 |
1,02,119 |
52,018 |
Tax Expense |
|
|
|
|
Current Tax |
24,500 |
8,822 |
25,619 |
9,004 |
Deferred Tax |
(11,500) |
- |
(11,413) |
166 |
Tax expense/(income) for earlier years |
|
- |
30 |
(3) |
Profit (Loss) for the year |
82,914 |
36,773 |
87,883 |
42,851 |
2. PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY
A smart pick up in revenues from the regulatory business (the
Collect' segment), helped the Company post a 39% increase in operating revenues
for the year under review. While the growth in the enterprises business (The
Create' segment) in the year under review was more sedate, the Company was able
to add a number of customers and further strengthen the offerings. The year under review
also witnessed a marked improvement in profitability especially at the profit before tax
level as the topline continued to improve.
Highlights of financial results (Amount in thousands - H)
|
Standalone |
|
Consolidated |
|
Particulars |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
% Increase/ (Decrease) |
FY 2024 |
FY 2023 |
% Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revenues |
9,74,746 |
6,87,543 |
42% |
10,29,559 |
7,49,034 |
37% |
Revenues from operation |
9,68,460 |
6,75,433 |
43% |
10,22,966 |
7,35,712 |
39% |
Revenues from export |
6,83,545 |
3,98,055 |
72% |
7,32,812 |
4,58,110 |
60% |
Revenues from "Collect" segment |
4,40,320 |
2,48,099 |
77% |
4,58,356 |
2,68,833 |
70% |
Revenues from "Create" segment |
4,87,071 |
3,92,492 |
24% |
5,23,534 |
4,32,037 |
21% |
Revenues from "Consume" segment |
41,070 |
34,842 |
18% |
41,076 |
34,842 |
18% |
Other income |
6,286 |
12,110 |
-48% |
6,593 |
13,322 |
-51% |
Employee Costs |
4,89,984 |
3,89,857 |
26% |
5,12,959 |
4,07,966 |
26% |
Finance Costs |
11,036 |
9,785 |
13% |
11,492 |
10,196 |
13% |
Travel related expenses |
35,795 |
21,303 |
68% |
38,212 |
25,173 |
52% |
Other Expenses |
2,97,738 |
1,74,208 |
71% |
3,19,558 |
2,06,602 |
55% |
Depreciation and Amortization |
44,279 |
46,792 |
-5% |
45,219 |
47,080 |
-4% |
Exceptional Items |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3. STATE OF COMPANY AFFAIRS
Your Company is recognized as a key player in the global regulatory
reporting solutions market, especially with respect to solutions built on the eXtensible
Business Reporting Language (XBRL') standard. We also occupy a distinct
position in the market with product offerings across the information supply chain
encompassing enterprises and regulators. The year under review saw a pick-up in both
revenues and demand conditions from the regulator segment as a key project implementation
got underway even as the Request for proposal (RFP') pipeline improved.
The enterprise segment of the business is well positioned to benefit from the tailwinds as
companies move to a SaaS based digital reporting solution. Your Company's flagship
product, IRIS CARBON? is also now offering a disclosure management product which will
boost productivity and accuracy in building collaborative reports, particularly for the
CFO's office. We are entering the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG')
reporting space as well, building on the strengths of the Company's customer base and
adjacent software offerings and are confident of offering significant value to customers.
In the tax technology space, the Company is looking at a foray outside the Indian market,
with an entry into Malaysia. Our software to facilitate bank automated compliance data
reporting, IRIS iDeal has expanded its footprint in the African markets as well. We
continue to evangelize the XBRL reporting standard across the world with special focus on
combining the financial and nonfinancial reporting requirements.
4. TRANSFER TO RESERVE
The Board has decided to retain the entire amount of profit for the
financial year ended 2023-24 in the distributable retained earnings.
5. DIVIDEND AND TRANSFER TO IEPF
With a view to conserve resources, the Board has not recommended any
dividend during the financial year ended 2023-24 and does not intend to recommend dividend
for the financial year 2023-24.
The Company was not required to transfer any unpaid / unclaimed amount
of dividend or any shares to Investor Education and Protection Fund during the financial
year ended March 31, 2024.
6. CHANGE IN THE NATURE OF BUSINESS
There was no change in the nature of business during the financial year
ended March 31, 2024.
7. MATERIAL CHANGES AND COMMITMENT, IF ANY, AFFECTING FINANCIAL
POSITION OF THE COMPANY
There have been no material changes and commitments affecting your
Company's financial position since the end of the Financial Year of the Company and date
of this Report.
8. SIGNIFICANT AND MATERIAL ORDERS PASSED BY THE REGULATORS OR COURTS
OR TRIBUNAL
No significant or material order was passed during the period under
review, by the Regulators or Courts or Tribunals bearing an impact on the going concern
status and Company's operations in future.
9. RISK AND CONCERN
Your Company primarily operates in two distinct customer segments, one
that comprises regulators and other being enterprises. Though both have separate
characteristics, the common denominator continues to be that of intense competition.
However, the Company's ability to offer integrated solutions is a unique feature that
helps us to stand out.
The Collect segment has risks pertaining to execution where there could
be substantial time creep or change in requirements that impact profitability. We also see
regulators preferring large, omnibus RFPs where we can only bid for specific components
and need to work with partners. We are also cognisant of enhancing our product suite to
include additional analytical components in line with the market needs.
In the Create segment, deep pocketed competitors invest heavily in on
the ground sales and marketing as well as in product features. However, we continue to
hold on our own with frugal engineering practices and innovative solutions. We also see
consolidation among players in certain markets that could affect the competitive dynamics.
Developments in the area of artificial intelligence (AI') is another aspect
that could potentially impact product offerings in the segments that we operate. We are
cognisant of this and are incorporating additional AI driven features in our solutions.
10. RISK MANAGEMENT
Your Company is aware of the risks associated with the business. The
Company follows a method for identifying, minimizing and mitigating risks which will be
periodically reviewed. The Company has a risk management policy in place for the purpose
of identification of all the major elements of risk, which in the opinion of the Board may
threaten the existence of the Company.
Some of the risks identified which will have the attention of the
management are:
- Securing critical resources including capital and human resources;
- Data Security;
- Ensuring cost competitiveness;
- Building product differentiation and the appropriate value
proposition;
- Maintaining and enhancing customer service standards;
- Identifying and introducing innovative marketing and branding
activities, especially in the digital media.
11. DEPOSITS
During the financial year ended 2023-24, your Company has not accepted
any deposits from the public falling within the purview of provisions of Section 73 of the
Companies Act, 2013 (the Act'), read with the Companies (Acceptance of
Deposits) Rules, 2014. Hence, the requirement for furnishing of details of deposits and
deposits which are not in compliance with Chapter V of the Act as required
under Rule 8 (5)(v) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is not
applicable.
As on March 31, 2024, there were no deposits which were unclaimed and
due for repayment.
12. PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES AND
THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY
Your Company had the following subsidiaries as on March 31, 2024:
1. IRIS Business Services (Asia) Pte. Ltd., Singapore
2. IRIS Business Services, LLC, United States of America
3. Atanou S.r.l., Italy
4. IRIS Logix Solutions Private Limited, India
None of the above companies ceased to be a subsidiary during the
financial year ended 2023-24. The Company does not have any Joint Venture or Associate
Company.
Pursuant to provisions of Section 129(3) of the Act, a statement
containing salient features of the financial statements of the Company's Subsidiaries in
Form AOC-1 is enclosed as "Annexure - 1" to this report. The consolidated
financial statement of the Company forms part of this annual report.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 136 of the Act, the financial
statements of the Company, consolidated financial statements along with relevant documents
and separate financial statements in respect of subsidiaries, are available on the website
of the Company at https://www.irisbusiness.com/investors/financials/. Any Member, who is
interested in obtaining a copy of the financial statements of subsidiary companies, may
write to the Company Secretary at cs@irisbusiness.com.
As on the financial year ended March 31, 2024, none of the subsidiaries
of the Company was identified as "material subsidiary" within the meaning of
Regulation 16(1)(c) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and
Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 (SEBI Listing Regulations').
13. SHARE CAPITAL
Pursuant to the members approval at the Extra-ordinary General Meeting
held on February 16, 2024, the authorized share capital of the Company increased from
H25,00,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty-five crores only) divided into 2,50,00,000 (Two crores
fifty lakh) Equity Shares of H10/- (Rupees Ten only) each to H32,00,00,000/- (Rupees
Thirty-two crores only) divided into 3,20,00,000 (Three crores twenty lakh) Equity Shares
of H10/- (Rupees Ten only) each.
However, there was no change in the paid-up share capital of the
Company.
i. Issue of Equity Shares with Differential Rights: The Company has not
issued any Equity Shares with differential rights during the financial year ended March
31, 2024.
ii. Issue of Sweat Equity Shares: The Company did not issue any Sweat
Equity Shares during the financial year ended March 31, 2024.
14.EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTIONS SCHEME
The members of the Company approved IRIS Employee Stock Options Scheme,
2017 (Scheme') at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting held on September
13, 2017. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board, inter-alia, administers
and monitors the Employees Stock Option Scheme of the Company in accordance with the
applicable provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee
Benefits) Regulations, 2014 (SEBI SBEB Regulations') as amended from
time to time. Pursuant to members approval, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of
the Board granted Options to the eligible employee(s) under the Scheme. Further, the
members of the Company granted their approval through Postal Ballot for ratification of
the Scheme and for extension of benefits of the Scheme for the eligible employees of
subsidiary Company(ies) of the Company.
The details of Scheme as required under Rule 12 of Companies (Share
Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014 and those under Regulation 14 read with Part F of
Schedule - I of the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations,
2014 (SEBI SBEB & SE Regulations'), as amended, to the extent
applicable are provided in "Annexure - 2" attached hereto. The said
disclosure is also available on the Company's website at
https://www.irisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/
IRIS_Disclosure_under_SEBI_Share_Based_Employee_Benefits_
Regulations_2021_for_2023-24.pdf.
The Scheme is in compliance with the SEBI SBEB & SE Regulations.
Further, there were no material change in the Scheme during the year. A certificate from
M/s. Priti J. Sheth & Associates, Company Secretaries, Secretarial Auditors of the
Company certifying that the ESOP Plan 2017 has been implemented in accordance with SEBI
SBEB Regulations pursuant to the resolution(s) passed by the Shareholders, will be
available for inspection at the venue of the ensuing Annual General Meeting. A copy of the
same is also available on the Company's web-site at https://www.irisbusiness.
com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IRIS_Compliance_Certificate_ on_ESOP_2017-2023-24.pdf.
During the year ended March 31, 2024, the Company implemented a new
employee stock option scheme, namely the IRIS Business Services Limited Employee
Stock Option Scheme 2023' (hereinafter referred to as ESOP Scheme 2023').
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC / also referred to as the
Compensation Committee') formulated the detailed terms and conditions of
the Plan, which was duly approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on
December 01, 2023, and subsequently by the Members of the Company by way of passing a
Special resolution at their Extra-ordinary General Meeting held on February 16, 2024. The
Company is in process of making an application to the Stock Exchanges where the Equity
Shares of the
Company are listed for obtaining their in-principle approval for ESOP
Scheme 2023.
Under ESOP Scheme 2023, the Company shall grant up to 9,75,000 (Nine
Lakh Seventy-five Thousand) Employee Stock Options (Options'), in one or
more tranches, to such eligible employees of the Company as well as the employees of its
group Company(ies), Associate Company(ies), Subsidiary Company(ies), whether in India or
outside India or of a Holding Company as may be determined by the NRC in terms of the ESOP
Scheme 2023, that would entitle the grantees (in aggregate) to subscribe to up to 9,75,000
(Nine Lakh Seventy-five Thousand) fully paid-up Equity Shares of H10/- (Rupees Ten only)
each.
15. INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL AND THEIR ADEQUACY
The Company has internal financial control and risk mitigation system,
which is constantly assessed and strengthened. The Company also conducts internal audits
from time to time. The Audit Committee actively reviews the internal audit report,
adequacy and effectiveness of the internal financial control and suggests improvements for
the same.
16. DECLARATIONS GIVEN BY DIRECTORS
Your Company has received necessary declarations and disclosures from
its Independent Directors under Section 149(7)
and Section 184(1) of the Act stating that they meet the criteria of
independence as laid down in Section 149(6) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Regulation 16
of the SEBI Listing Regulations and have disclosed their interest in the form MBP-1. All
the Directors have certified that they are not disqualified under section 164 of the Act.
The Independent Directors have complied with the Code for Independent Directors prescribed
in Schedule IV of the Act.
The Board of the Company has taken the disclosures on record after
verifying the due veracity of the same.
In the opinion of the Board, all the Independent Directors possess the
integrity, expertise and experience including the proficiency required to be Independent
Directors of the Company, fulfil the conditions of independence as specified in the Act
and the SEBI Listing Regulations and are independent of the management and have also
complied with the Code for Independent Directors as prescribed in Schedule IV of the Act.
All the Independent Directors of the Company are also registered with the databank of
Independent Directors as required under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
The Directors and the senior management personnel have affirmed
compliance with the Code of Conduct for Directors and Senior Management Personnel during
the financial year ended 2023-24.
17. DIRECTORS AND KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL AND COMPOSITION OF BOARD
The composition of Board of Directors of the Company as on March 31,
2024 is as follows:
Sr. |
Name of Director |
DIN |
Category |
1. |
Mr. Swaminathan Subramaniam |
01185930 |
Promoter, Whole Time Director
& Chief Executive Officer (CEO') |
2. |
Mr. Balachandran Krishnan |
00080055 |
Promoter, Whole Time Director
& Chief Financial Officer (CFO') |
3. |
Ms. Deepta Rangarajan |
00404072 |
Promoter, Whole Time Director |
4. |
Mr. Puthenpurackal Kuncheria
Xavier Thomas |
09760233 |
Whole Time Director &
Chief Technology Officer (CTO') |
5. |
Mr. Vinod Balmukand Agarwala |
01725158 |
Chairman & Independent
Director |
6. |
Mr. Ashok Venkatramani |
02839145 |
Independent Director |
7. |
Mr. Bhaswar Mukherjee |
01654539 |
Independent Director |
8. |
Mr. Haseeb A. Drabu |
00489888 |
Independent Director |
Re-appointment of the Whole-time Directors
Based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration
Committee, the Board of Directors at their meeting held on May 26, 2023 and the members of
the Company at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on August 14, 2023, approved
the re-appointment of Mr. Swaminathan Subramaniam, (DIN: 01185930), Ms. Deepta Rangarajan,
(DIN: 00404072) and Mr. Balachandran Krishnan, (DIN: 00080055) as the Wholetime Directors
of the Company for a period of Three (03) years commencing from May 01, 2024.
Retirement on Rotation
In accordance with the provisions of Section 152(6) of the Act and the
Company's Articles of Association, Mr. Puthenpurackal
Kuncheria Xavier Thomas, (DIN: 09760233), Whole Time
Director of the Company, being the longest in the office, retires by
rotation at the forthcoming 24th Annual General Meeting, and being eligible,
has offered himself for re-appointment.
Key Managerial Personnel
As on date, Mr. Swaminathan Subramaniam, CEO, Mr. Balachandran
Krishnan, CFO and Mr. Santoshkumar Sharma, Company Secretary & Compliance Officer are
the Key Managerial Personnel of the Company.
Apart from the above, there was no other change in the composition of
the Key Managerial Personnel during the financial year ended 2023-24.
18. BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETING(S)
A total of 19 Board/Committee meetings were held during the financial
year ended 2023-24 comprising of 7 Board meetings, 5 meetings of the Audit Committee, 3
meetings of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, 1 meetings of the Stakeholders
Relationship Committee, 2 meetings of the Risk Management Committee, 1 Independent
Directors' meeting. Due to nonapplicability of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR')
under Section 135(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 for the financial year ended March 31,
2024, there was no requirement of a meeting of the CSR Committee during the financial year
ended 2023-24.
The details of the Board Meetings and Committee Meetings with regard to
the dates and attendance of each of the Directors/ Members thereat have been provided in
the Corporate Governance Report.
Committees of Board:
The Company has Seven (7) Board-level Committee(s), which have been
established in compliance with the provisions of the Act and/ or SEBI Listing Regulations:
- Audit Committee;
- Nomination and Remuneration Committee;
- Stakeholders Relationship Committee;
- Corporate Social Responsibility Committee;
- Risk Management Committee;
- Rights Issue Committee; and
- Business Responsibility and Sustainability Committee
Details of Committees along with their terms of reference, composition
and attendance of Members at the meeting of the Committees are provided in the Corporate
Governance Report.
I. Audit Committee:
The Audit Committee was constituted by the Board, in accordance with
the provisions of Section 177 of the Act read with Regulation 18 of SEBI Listing
Regulations. During the financial year ended 2023-24, the Board accepted all the
recommendations of the Audit Committee.
II. Nomination and Remuneration Committee:
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 178 of the Act read with
Regulation 19 of SEBI Listing Regulations, the Board constituted the Nomination and
Remuneration Committee, which inter-alia recommends to the Board the criteria for
appointment of Director(s) along with the compensation, terms of executive directors and
senior managerial personnel.
The Board has approved the Nomination and Remuneration Policy for
Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and all other Employees of the Company. The said
policy is hosted on the website of the Company. The web link of the same is as follows:
https://www.irisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/
NRC-Policy.pdf.
III. Stakeholders Relationship Committee:
The Stakeholders Relationship Committee has been duly constituted in
accordance with the provisions Section 178 of the Act, read with Regulation 20 of SEBI
Listing Regulations. The primary objective Stakeholders Relationship Committee of the
Company is to consider and resolve the grievances of security holders/ members of the
Company.
During the financial year ended 2023-24, there were no
complaints/grievances received from the stakeholders.
IV. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR') Committee:
The CSR Committee is duly constituted as per the provisions of Section
135 of the Act. The said Committee has been entrusted with the responsibility of
formulating and recommending to the Board, the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy
(CSR Policy') indicating the activities to be undertaken by the Company,
monitoring the implementation of the framework of the CSR Policy and recommending the
amount to be spent on CSR activities.
The key philosophy of the Company's CSR initiative is to promote
development through social and economic transformation. The CSR Policy of the Company can
be accessed on the Company's website at the link provided herein below:
https://www.irisbusiness.com/wp-content/
uploads/2023/12/CSR-Policy-2.pdf.
V. Risk Management Committee:
The Board of your Company voluntarily constituted the Risk Management
Committee (RMC') of the Board for the purpose of internal
administration.
VI. Rights Issue Committee:
The Board of Directors at their meeting held on January 29, 2022,
approved the raising of funds by way of offer and issue of Equity Shares of the Company on
a right basis (Rights Issue') up to H32.00 Crore and accordingly
constituted a Rights Issue Committee. There was no meeting of Rights Issue Committee
during the financial year ended 2023-24.
VII. Business Responsibility and Sustainability Committee:
The Board of Directors at their meeting held on February 13, 2023
constituted the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Committee on voluntarily basis.
Though not mandated under SEBI Listing Regulations, the said committee was constituted
voluntarily with an aim to help the business in demonstrating the structure, policies and
processes as set in the principles and core elements of the National Guidelines on
Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC').
19. COMPLIANCE WITH SECRETARIAL STANDARD
The Company has complied with the Secretarial Standards (SS')
i.e., SS-1 and SS-2 issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India on Meetings of
the Board of Directors and General Meetings respectively during the financial year ended
2023-24.
20. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
All related party transactions that were entered into during the
financial year were in the ordinary course of the business, on an arm's length basis
and in accordance with the Policy on Related Party Transactions formulated and adopted by
the Company. The Company did not enter into material contracts or arrangements or
transactions with related parties in accordance with Section 188 of the Act read with the
Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014. The details of the transactions
as per section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013 and rules framed thereunder is enclosed as
"Annexure - 3" in Form AOC-2, as required under Rule 8(2) of Companies
(Accounts) Rules, 2014.
The Related Party Transactions were placed before the Audit Committee
for prior approval, as required under applicable law. Only those members of the Audit
Committee who were Independent Directors approved the same.
Prior omnibus approval of the Audit Committee was also obtained for the
transactions which were repetitive in nature. A statement of all Related Party
Transactions was placed before the Audit Committee for its review on a quarterly basis,
specifying the nature and value of the transactions.
The Board of Directors on the recommendations of the Audit Committee,
approved the revised "Policy on Related Party Transactions" on March 26, 2022 to
align with the amendments notified by the SEBI. The Policy on Related Party Transactions
is available on the website of the Company at https://www.
irisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Policy-on-Related- Party-Transactions.pdf.
The particulars of contracts or arrangements entered into with the
related party are set out in Note 27 to the Standalone Financial Statements of the Company
forming part of the Annual Report.
The Company in terms of Regulation 23 of the SEBI Listing Regulations
submits within the stipulated time from the date of publication of its standalone and
consolidated financial results for the half year, disclosures of related party
transactions to the stock exchanges, in the format specified in the relevant accounting
standards and SEBI.
21. PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYEES
The information required under Section 197(12) of the Act read with
Rule 5(1) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules,
2014, is enclosed as "Annexure - 4"
The information required under Rule 5 of the Companies (Appointment and
Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules,
2014, including amendment thereto, is provided in the "Annexure
- 4" forming part of the Report.
22. ANNUAL EVALUATION OF BOARD, COMMITTEES AND INDIVIDUAL DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors has carried out an annual evaluation of its own
performance, Committees and individual Directors, pursuant to the provisions of the Act
and SEBI Listing Regulations.
The Nomination & Remuneration Committee (NRC')
has defined the evaluation criteria for the performance evaluation of individual
Directors, the Board and its Committees.
The performance of the Board was evaluated by the Board after seeking
inputs from all the Directors on the basis of the criteria such as structure of the Board,
meetings and functions of the Board, degree of fulfilment of key responsibilities,
establishment and delineation of responsibilities to Committees, effectiveness of Board
processes, information and functioning and quality of relationship between the Board and
the Management, etc.
The performance of the Committees was evaluated by the Board after
seeking inputs from the committee members on the basis of the criteria such as mandate and
composition, effectiveness of the Committees, structure of the Committees and meetings,
independence of the Committees from the Board, contribution to decisions of the Board,
effectiveness of the meetings and quality of relationship of the Committees with the Board
and the Management, etc.
The Board and the NRC reviewed the performance of the individual
Directors on the basis of the criteria such as knowledge and competency, fulfilment of
functions, ability to function as a team, initiatives taken, availability and attendance
at the meeting, integrity, independence, contribution at Board/Committee Meetings and
guidance/support to the management outside Board/Committee Meetings etc. In addition, the
performance of the Chairman was also evaluated on key aspects of his role, including
effectiveness of leadership and ability to steer the meetings, impartiality, ability to
keep shareholders' interests in mind and motivating and providing guidance to the
Executive Directors etc.
In a separate meeting of Independent Directors, performance of
Non-Independent Directors, performance of the Board as a whole and performance of the
Chairman was evaluated, taking into account the views of Executive Directors and
Non-Executive Directors. The same was discussed in the Board meeting that followed the
meeting of the Independent Directors, at which the performance of the Board, its
Committees and individual Directors was also discussed. Performance evaluation of
Independent Directors was done by the entire Board, excluding the Independent Director
being evaluated.
Outcome of evaluation process: Based on inputs received from the board
members, it emerged that the Board has a good mix of competency, experience,
qualifications and diversity. Each Board member contributed in his/her own manner to the
collective
wisdom of the Board, keeping in mind his/her own background and
experience. There was active participation and adequate time was given for discussing
strategy. Overall, the Board was functioning very well in a cohesive and interactive
manner.
The NRC Policy including the criteria of annual evaluation of board,
committees and individual directors are available on the Company's website
https://www.irisbusiness.com/wp-content/ uploads/2023/12/NRC-Policy.pdf.
23. COMPANY'S POLICY OF APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR'S AND KEY
MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
In pursuance of the Company's policy to consider human resources
as its invaluable assets, to pay equitable remuneration to all Directors, Key Managerial
Personnel (KMP') and employees of the Company, to harmonize the
aspirations of human resources consistent with the goals of the Company and in terms of
the provisions of the Companies Act 2013, this policy on nomination and remuneration of
Directors, Key Managerial Personnel and Senior Management has been formulated by the
Nomination and Remuneration Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.
The policy is available on the Company's website at https://www.
irisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NRC-Policy.pdf.
24. ENERGY CONSERVATION, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE
EARNINGS AND OUTGO
The information on conservation of energy, technology absorption and
foreign exchange earnings and outgo stipulated under Section 134(3)(m) of the Companies
Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is enclosed as "Annexure
- 5" to this report.
25. STATUTORY AUDITORS
M/s. KKC & Associates LLP, Chartered Accountants, (ICAI Firm
Registration No. 105146W/W100621) were appointed as the Statutory Auditors of the Company
by the members of the Company at the Twentieth Annual General Meeting (AGM')
of the Company held on August 14, 2020 to hold office upto the conclusion of the
Twenty-fifth AGM. They have confirmed that they are not disqualified from continuing as
the Statutory Auditors of the Company.
The Auditors' Report on the Financial Statements (Standalone and
Consolidated) of the Company for the financial year ended 2023-24, "with an
unmodified opinion", as given by the Statutory Auditors, is disclosed in the
Financial Statements forming part of this Annual Report. The Auditors' Report on financial
statements of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2024 does not contain any
qualifications, reservations or adverse remarks.
26. SECRETARIAL AUDITORS
In terms of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rules made there
under, M/s. Priti J. Sheth & Associates, Company Secretary,
Mumbai, (Membership No. FCS 6833, C.P. No. 5518) was appointed as a
Secretarial Auditor of the Company to undertake the Secretarial Audit of the Company for
Financial Year 2023-24. The report does not contain any qualification, reservation or
adverse remark for the reporting year. The report issued by the Secretarial Auditor is
enclosed as "Annexure - 6".
The requirement of conducting Secretarial Audit was not applicable to
any of the subsidiaries of the Company during the financial year ended 2023-24.
In pursuance to the SEBI Circular no. CIR/CFD/CMD1/27/2019 dated
February 08, 2019 issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India with respect to the
Annual Secretarial Compliance Report is enclosed as "Annexure - 6A"
Further, the Board of Directors at their meeting held on May 18, 2024
have appointed M/s. Priti J. Sheth & Associates, Company Secretaries for conducting
Secretarial Audit of the Company for the financial year 2024-25.
27. INTERNAL AUDITORS
In terms of Section 138 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rules made there
under, M/s. M.P. Chitale & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai, were appointed as
Internal Auditors of the Company to undertake the Internal Audit of the Company for
Financial Year 2023-24. During the year, the Company continued to implement its
suggestions and recommendations to improve the control environment. Their scope of work
included, review of processes for safeguarding the assets of the Company, review of
operational efficiency, effectiveness of systems and processes, and assessing the internal
control strengths in all areas.
Further, the Board of Directors at their meeting held on May 18, 2024
have appointed M/s. M.P. Chitale & Co., Chartered Accountants, Mumbai for conducting
Internal Audit of the Company for the financial year 2024-25.
28. COST AUDITOR
The Company was not required to appoint any Cost Auditor or maintain
Cost Audit Records pursuant to the requirements provided in Section 148 of the Act during
the financial year ended 2023-24.
29. EXTRACT OF ANNUAL RETURN
Pursuant to Section 92(3) read with the Companies (Management and
Administration) Rules, 2014 of the Act, the Annual Return of the Company for the financial
year March 31, 2024 in Form MGT-7 is made available on the website of the Company at
https://www. irisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IRIS_Annual_ Returns-2023-24.pdf.
30. PARTICULARS OF LOANS, GUARANTEES AND INVESTMENTS
The Company did not granted any loans, guarantees nor made any
investments under the provisions of Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 during the
financial year ended 2023-24.
31. DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
Based on the framework of internal financial controls and compliance
systems established and maintained by the Company, work performed by the internal,
statutory and secretarial auditors including audit of internal financial controls over
financial reporting by the statutory auditors and the reviews undertaken by Management and
the relevant Board Committees, including the Audit Committee, the Board is of the opinion
that the Company's internal financial controls were adequate and effective during the
financial year ended March 31, 2024.
Accordingly, pursuant to Section 134(3)(c) and 134(5) of the Act, the
Board of Directors, to the best of their information and knowledge, confirm that:
a) in the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting
standards have been followed and that there are no material departures;
b) the Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as
to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the
financial year and of the profit and loss of the Company for that year;
c) the Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of this Act
for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and
other irregularities;
d) the annual accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis;
e) internal financial controls have been laid down to be followed by
the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and were operating
effectively; and
f) proper systems have been devised to ensure compliance with the
provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems are adequate and operating
effectively.
32. HUMAN RESOURCES / INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, INCLUDING NUMBER OF PEOPLE
EMPLOYED
Your Company provides regular training to employees to improve skills.
Your Company has put in place a performance appraisal system that covers all employees.
Your Company had 458 permanent employees as on March 31, 2024 against 396 permanent
employees as on March 31, 2023.
33. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A separate section on Corporate Governance is enclosed as Annexure-7'
along with the certificate from the M/s. Priti J. Sheth & Associates, Company
Secretaries confirming compliance with conditions on Corporate Governance as stipulated
under Schedule V of the SEBI Listing Regulations as on March 31, 2024.
34. COMMITTEE AND POLICY UNDER SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE
(PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013
Your Company has adopted a Policy on Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace, to provide protection to employees at the
workplace and for prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for
matters connected or incidental thereto, with the objective of providing a safe working
environment, where employees feel secure. The Company has also constituted an Internal
Complaints Committee to consider and to redress complaints of sexual harassment. During
the financial year ended 2023-24, the Company did not receive any complaint under the
Policy for Prevention of Sexual Harassment of the Company. All employees (permanent,
contractual, temporary, trainees) are covered under this policy. The following is a
summary of sexual harassment complaints received and disposed of during the financial year
ended 2023-24:
Sr No. |
Particulars |
Remarks |
1 |
No of complaints at the
beginning of the year |
Nil |
2 |
No. of complaints filed during
the financial year ended 2023-24 |
Nil |
3 |
No. of complaints disposed
off during the financial year ended 2023-24 |
NA |
4 |
No. of complaints pending as on
March 31, 2024 |
Nil |
35. REPORTING OF FRAUDS BY AUDITORS
During the financial year ended 2023-24, neither the statutory auditors
nor the secretarial auditor has reported to the Audit Committee, under Section 143 (12) of
the Companies Act, 2013, any instances of fraud committed against the Company by its
officers or employees.
36. WHISTLE BLOWER POLICY / VIGIL MECHANISM
Your Company has Whistle Blower Policy /Vigil Mechanism Policy for the
Company to report to the management instances of unethical behaviour, actual or suspected,
fraud or violation of the Company's code of conduct. Functioning of the Whistle
Blower Policy is reviewed by the Audit Committee / Board on periodical basis. During the
financial year ended March 31, 2024, the Company has not received any complaint under the
Whistle Blower Policy of the Company.
The Whistle Blower Policy has been appropriately communicated within
the Company across all levels and is available on the website of the Company at
https://www.irisbusiness.com/wp-content/ uploads/2023/02/Vigil-Mechanism-Policy.pdf.
37. CODE OF CONDUCT
The Board of Directors has approved a Code of Conduct which is
applicable to the members of the Board of Directors and Senior
Management Personnel. All the Directors and Senior Management Personnel
have affirmed their adherence to the provisions of the Code of Conduct during the
financial year 2023-24. The declaration to this effect signed by Mr. Swaminathan
Subramaniam, Whole Time Director & CEO is enclosed to the Corporate Governance report
as "Annexure - 7B"
38. MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS REPORT
In terms of provisions of Regulation 34(2)(e) of SEBI Listing
Regulations, a Management Discussion & Analysis Report for the financial year ended
March 31, 2024 has been separately furnished in the Annual Report.
39. POLICIES AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
In terms of provisions of the Act and provisions of the SEBI Listing
Regulations, the Company has adopted the following Policies. The policies are available on
Company's website https://www. irisbusiness.com/investors/policies/.
¦ Policy on Related Party Transactions;
¦ Nomination and Remuneration Policy;
¦ Corporate Social Responsibility Policy;
¦ Code of Conduct for Director & Senior Management
Personnel;
¦ Material Subsidiary Policy;
¦ Policy for Determination of Materiality of Events;
¦ Policy for Preservation of Documents;
¦ Terms and Condition of Independent Director;
¦ Vigil Mechanism and Whistle-Blower Policy;
¦ Code of Conduct to Regulate, Monitor and Report Trading by
insiders and Code of Practices and Procedures for Fair Disclosure of Unpublished Price
Sensitive Information;
¦ Policy for Procedure of Inquiry in Case of Leak of Unpublished
Price Sensitive Information (UPSI');
¦ IRIS Business Services Limited Employee Stock Option Plan
2023;
¦ IRIS Business Services Limited Employee Stock Option Plan
2017.
The Company's Policy on Directors' appointment, remuneration and
other matters provided in Section 178(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 forms part of the
Nomination and Remuneration Policy.
40. LAUNCH OF SWAYAM'
The Company's RTA i.e Link Intime India Private Limited, has launched
Swayam' new Investor Self-Service Portal, designed
exclusively for the Investors serviced by Link Intime India Private
Ltd.
SWAYAM' is a secure, user-friendly web-based application,
developed by "Link Intime India Pvt Ltd.", our Registrar and Share Transfer
Agents, that empowers shareholders to effortlessly access various services. We request you
to get registered and have firsthand experience of the portal.
This application can be accessed at https://swayam.linkintime. co.in .
a. Effective Resolution of Service Request -Generate and Track Service
Requests/Complaints through SWAYAM.
b. Features - A user-friendly GUI.
c. Track Corporate Actions like Dividend/Interest/Bonus/split.
d. PAN-based investments - Provides access to PAN linked accounts,
Company wise holdings and security valuations.
e. Effortlessly Raise request for Unpaid Amounts.
f. Self-service portal - for securities held in demat mode and physical
securities, whose folios are KYC compliant.
g. Statements - View entire holdings and status of corporate benefits.
h. Two-factor authentication (2FA) at Login - Enhances security for
investors.
41. GENERAL
The Board of Directors confirm that no disclosure or reporting is
required in respect of the following matters as there were no transactions on these
matters during the financial year 2023-24:
1. Issue of Equity Shares with differential rights as to dividend,
voting or otherwise;
2. Issue of sweat Equity Shares;
3. Revision made to the financial statements for any of the three
financial years preceding the financial year ended 2023-24;
4. non-exercising of voting rights in respect of shares purchased
directly by employees under a scheme pursuant to Section 67(3) of the Act read with Rule
16(4) of Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules, 2014;
5. application made or any proceeding pending under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016) during the year along with their status as at the end
of the financial year;
6. difference between amount of the valuation done at the time of
one-time settlement and the valuation done while taking loan from the Banks or Financial
Institutions along with the reasons thereof.
42. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Your Board takes this opportunity to thank all its employees for their
dedicated service and firm commitment to the goals of the Company. Your Board also wishes
to place on record its
sincere appreciation for the wholehearted support received from
members, clients, bankers and all other business associates. The Company looks forward to
continued support of all these partners in progress.
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For and on behalf of the Board
of Directors |
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IRIS Business Services
Limited |
Swaminathan Subramaniam |
Deepta Rangarajan |
Balachandran Krishnan |
Whole Time Director & CEO |
Whole Time Director |
Whole Time Director & CFO |
(DIN: 01185930) |
(DIN: 00404072) |
(DIN:00080055) |
Date: May 18, 2024 |
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Place: Navi Mumbai |
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