Institute of Social Auditors of India
Also written ISAI · Institute of Social Auditors of India (ISAI)
The first Self-Regulatory Organisation for Social Impact Assessors: a not-for-profit Section 8 company set up under the aegis of ICAI, with which assessors register before they may work on the SSE.
In plain language
SEBI wrote the rules for the Social Stock Exchange. But it did not set itself up as the body that signs up every assessor one by one.
That job went to a professional body. The Institute of Social Auditors of India (ISAI) was the first one named.
ISAI is not a government department. The workbook calls it a not-for-profit organisation, registered as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013. It was set up under the aegis of ICAI, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
ISAI is the assessor's professional home. A Social Impact Assessor registers there. ISAI puts them on its approved list. It issues the code of conduct they must follow. And its registration number goes on the front of every report they sign.
ISAI is no longer the only such body. SEBI has since named two more, one under the cost accountants and one under the company secretaries.
How it works
What ISAI is (Chapter 2, section 2.2.6). A not-for-profit organisation, registered as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013, set up under the aegis of ICAI, and named by SEBI as the Self-Regulatory Organisation for Social Impact Assessors.
The other SROs. By a SEBI circular of May 2024, two further agencies are specified alongside ISAI:
| SRO | Parent professional institute |
|---|---|
| ISAI | Institute of Chartered Accountants of India |
| ICMAI Social Auditors Organization (ICMAI SAO) | Institute of Cost Accountants of India |
| ICSI Institute of Social Auditors (ICSI ISA) | Institute of Company Secretaries of India |
Chapter 1's footnote records the same sequence: ISAI was set up first, under ICAI, followed by ICMAI SAO and then ICSI ISA.
Why ICAI is in the picture at all. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs supervises three professional bodies constituted by separate Acts of Parliament — ICAI, ICSI and ICMAI. All three now host an SRO for social impact assessors, which is why the ICDR definition of a Social Impact Assessor points at "a self-regulatory organization under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or such other agency, as may be specified by SEBI".
What ISAI does for an assessor. Chapter 5 (5.3.3) requires every Social Impact Assessor to be registered with an SRO under ISAI or another SEBI-specified agency. The SRO registers the assessor, empanels them, and issues the code of conduct. Chapter 8's report template carries an SRO Registration Number on the signature block, and the report must include a statement that the assessor complies with the independence and ethical requirements of the code of conduct issued by the SRO.
No figure in the workbook. The workbook gives ISAI no membership count, no fee and no date of incorporation. Only the May 2024 circular date and the Section 8 / Companies Act, 2013 status are stated, so those are the only figures to carry.
A worked example
Illustrative assessor and figures.
CA Meera Iyer, Coimbatore, clears the NISM Social Impact Assessor certification. As a Chartered Accountant she meets the qualification route outright, so she applies to ISAI, the SRO under her own institute.
- Registration. ISAI registers her and allots an SRO registration number, of the kind the workbook's sample report prints as 117366W/W-18ZU8.
- The engagement. A Social Impact Assessment Organisation engages her to assess a listed ₹1,10,00,000 rural sanitation project for a Tiruppur trust.
- The report. Her report's signature block carries the firm name, the SRO registration number, her membership number and the place and date — exactly the layout Chapter 8's template shows.
- The compliance statement. The report also states that the engagement was performed under the SAS Framework, and that she complies with the independence and ethical requirements of the code of conduct issued by the SRO.
Now suppose Meera were a Cost and Management Accountant instead. She would register with ICMAI SAO, not ISAI — the same role, a different one of the three SEBI-specified bodies. Either way, she cannot sign an SSE assessment while registered with none of them.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 2 (10% weightage), section 2.2.6, names ISAI, its Section 8 status and its ICAI parentage, then lists the two further SROs. Chapter 5 (10%) requires registration with an SRO under ISAI before an assessor may work, and Chapter 8 (15%) shows an SRO registration number on a sample report. Expect a direct recall question: what is the SRO for social impact assessors called, what legal form does it take (Section 8 company), and under which institute was it set up (ICAI).
Common exam traps
- ISAI, not ICAI. ICAI is the parent institute. ISAI is the SRO set up under its aegis. Questions offer both.
- A Section 8 company, not a statutory body. It is a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act, 2013, not a creature of its own Act of Parliament the way ICAI, ICSI and ICMAI are.
- There are three SROs, not one. ISAI was first; ICMAI SAO and ICSI ISA were specified by SEBI in May 2024.
- The workbook's own wording slips. Chapter 5 (5.3.3) says assessors register "with an SRO under the Institute of Social Auditors of India (ISAI)", although ISAI is itself the SRO, not the parent of one. Chapter 2 gets it right. Read both as registration with a SEBI-specified SRO.
- Registration is with the SRO; certification is from NISM. Two separate steps, and both are needed.
- ISAI is not the Social Stock Exchange Governing Council. The Council oversees an exchange's SSE segment; ISAI governs individual assessors.
- ISAI is not a Social Impact Assessment Organisation either. An SIAO employs assessors for an engagement; ISAI registers and disciplines them.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series XXIIIRelated terms
- Self-Regulatory OrganisationThe body every Social Impact Assessor must be registered and empanelled with: ISAI under ICAI, or another agency SEBI specifies (ICMAI SAO, ICSI ISA). It issues the code of conduct assessors follow.
- Social Stock ExchangeA separate segment of a recognised stock exchange on which Not for Profit Organisations and For Profit Social Enterprises register and list securities to raise money for social impact, under SEBI rules.
- Section 8 companyA company incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 to promote charitable objects, applying its profits only to those objects — one of three legal forms, alongside a Trust and a Society, an NPO can take.
- Social Impact Assessment OrganisationAn entity that employs Social Impact Assessors and has either a 3-year SIA track record or at least two full-time assessors with 3 years' experience each, who sign the report; it assesses AIRs of listed projects.
- Social Impact AssessorAn individual registered with an SRO (under ICAI or another SEBI-specified agency) who has passed the NISM certification and holds a valid certificate; performs independent verification of impact reports.