In accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, determining the audit organization that conducts the Bank's audit, as well as the amount of payment for its services, falls under the exclusive competence of the Board of Directors.

In accordance with the Policy on Attracting External Audit and the Regulation on the Audit Committee, the competence of the Audit Committee of the Bank's Board of Directors includes:

-     Preliminary approval of the selection of the audit organization conducting the audit of the financial statements and the amount of payment for its services;

-     Monitoring the implementation of recommendations made by internal and external auditors;

-     Appointment and replacement of the external auditor conducting the audit, approval of qualification requirements and/or technical specifications developed for the competitive selection process of the external auditor, determination of payment for its services, and quality evaluation of the external auditor's services;

-     Evaluation of the independence and objectivity of the external audit, as well as a preliminary analysis of the audit organization's report before its presentation to the Board of Directors;

-     Review of reports from regulatory authorities, external and internal auditors, and management regarding compliance with legislation;

-     Regular meetings with the external auditor, review of management letters prepared by the external auditor, and review of the management's implementation of the external auditor's recommendations reflected in the management letter;

-     Review of other matters relating to the activities of internal and external audit, as well as financial and operational reporting;

-     Conducting separate meetings with the Bank's management, its external auditors, and internal auditors, as necessary.

In accordance with the Bank's Rules for the Procurement of Goods, Works, and Services, and following a centralized procurement process conducted by JSC "NIH "Baiterek" for the financial statements audit for 2024–2026, a long-term procurement contract for financial statements audit services was concluded with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on April 26, 2024. The contract is valid until April 30, 2027. The remuneration amount for the financial statements audit services for 2025 is 82,000 thousand tenge.

The Bank adheres to the principle of rotation for the project partner (who bears the primary responsibility for the audit) in accordance with the Bank's Policy on Organizing External Audit, which stipulates a period of no more than 7 years.

In the event that non-audit services are obtained from the external auditor, the Bank reviews all services for the possibility (risk) of a conflict of interest arising (a situation in which the external auditor's interest could influence its opinion on the reliability of the financial statements) that may affect the external auditor's independence. Throughout 2025, the audit organization PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP did not provide any consulting services unrelated to the audit of the financial statements.