Social Impact Assessment Standards
Also written SAS · Social Impact Assessment Standards (SAS) · Social Impact Assessment (Audit) Standards · SIAS
ICAI's sixteen thematic standards, SAS 100 to SAS 1600, mirroring the SSE's eligible activities; compliance is mandatory for social impact assessments of social enterprises listed on an SSE.
In plain language
Auditors of financial statements follow Standards on Auditing. Social Impact Assessment Standards (SAS) give social impact assessors the equivalent: guidance on what to look at and what indicators matter in a particular kind of social project.
They are issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) — the workbook's footnote calls them "area specific thematic Social Impact Assessment Standards issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India."
They are thematic. A watershed project and a cataract-surgery project need different evidence. So there is one standard per theme, and the assessor applies the one that matches the social project being assessed.
Sitting above the thematic standards is the SAS Framework. It sets out the elements and objectives of any assessment, but not the requirements for any specific theme.
How it works
The sixteen standards (Chapter 5, 5.5):
| SAS | Thematic area |
|---|---|
| 100 | Eradicating hunger, poverty, malnutrition and inequality |
| 200 | Promoting health care (including mental health) and sanitation; safe drinking water |
| 300 | Promoting education, employability and livelihoods |
| 400 | Promoting gender equality, empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ communities |
| 500 | Environmental sustainability, climate change, forest and wildlife conservation |
| 600 | Protection of national heritage, art and culture |
| 700 | Training to promote rural, nationally recognised, Paralympic and Olympic sports |
| 800 | Supporting incubators of social enterprises |
| 900 | Supporting platforms that strengthen the non-profit ecosystem |
| 1000 | Livelihoods for rural and urban poor, incl. small and marginal farmers |
| 1100 | Slum area development, affordable housing, sustainable and resilient cities |
| 1200 | Disaster management, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction |
| 1300 | Promotion of financial inclusion |
| 1400 | Access to land and property assets for disadvantaged communities |
| 1500 | Bridging the digital divide; misinformation and data protection |
| 1600 | Welfare of migrants and displaced persons |
The list tracks the first sixteen eligible activities in Regulation 292E.
Compliance rules:
- Compliance with SAS is mandatory for social impact assessments of social enterprises listed on an SSE.
- If an assessor cannot perform an assessment in accordance with SAS, the report must draw attention to the material departures.
- Assessors follow SAS for assessments commencing on or after the effective date specified in the SAS.
The SAS Framework (5.6) provides a frame of reference for assessors, responsible parties, engaging parties and intended users. It:
- does not establish thematic standards or requirements (poverty, climate change, health and so on);
- does not cover any element of a financial audit or review;
- applies to social enterprises registered or listed on the SSE, and may also be applied to other engagements such as CSR impact assessments;
- excludes statutory, internal and tax audits.
A worked example
Illustrative projects mapped to the workbook's list.
Sampark Assessors, a Social Impact Assessment Organisation in Bhubaneswar, has five engagements this quarter. Picking the right standard is the first step in each.
| Project | Correct SAS | Why not the tempting alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Self-help-group savings and microcredit for women, Kalahandi | SAS 1300 — financial inclusion | Not SAS 400: gender is the target group, but the intervention is financial inclusion |
| Farm-pond and income support for small and marginal farmers | SAS 1000 — livelihoods for rural poor incl. small and marginal farmers | Not SAS 300, whose livelihoods sit with education and employability |
| Low-cost smartphones plus digital-safety workshops for Class 9 girls | SAS 1500 — digital divide, misinformation, data protection | Not SAS 300 education, since the intervention targets access and data protection |
| Rebuilding homes after Cyclone Fani | SAS 1200 — disaster management, reconstruction | Not SAS 1100, which is slum development and affordable housing |
| Watershed and check dams, Raigad | SAS 500 — environmental sustainability | The workbook's own Chapter 8 case study 8.1 |
A material departure. In the Kalahandi engagement, floods cut road access to 9 of the 30 sample villages. Sampark cannot complete the household verification that SAS 1300 guidance expects for those villages. Its report must draw attention to that material departure — not silently shrink the sample.
For a listed enterprise, applying the standard is mandatory. For a company's CSR impact assessment, the SAS Framework may be applied.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 5 (5.4 to 5.6) lists the sixteen standards, the compliance rules and the SAS Framework's objectives and scope. Chapter 8 (15%) builds its case studies around individual standards — SAS 500, 200, 400 and 1100 among them. Chapter 5's first sample question asks who developed the framework (ICAI). Expect a "which SAS number fits this project" question, the mandatory-for-listed rule, material departures, and what the Framework does not cover.
Common exam traps
- Sixteen standards, SAS 100 to SAS 1600, in steps of 100.
- Issued by ICAI, not SEBI, NISM or the SSE.
- Mandatory for social enterprises listed on an SSE. The framework may also be applied to CSR impact assessments.
- Cannot comply → disclose material departures in the report.
- The SAS Framework sets no thematic requirements and covers no financial audit.
- Workbook inconsistency on status. Chapter 5 presents the standards as issued SAS with effective dates. Chapter 8 heads every case study "Draft Social impact assessment Standard (SAS)". Treat the numbers and themes as the same.
- Workbook inconsistency on source and location. Chapter 7 (7.3.2) says impact reporting must follow "Social Impact Assessment Standards issued by the SRO", discussed in "Chapter 6". Chapter 5 says they are issued by ICAI and lists them itself. ISAI is ICAI's SRO, which may explain the wording; for "who issued SAS", answer ICAI.
Check yourself
1.How many thematic areas do the Social Impact Assessment Standards (SAS) cover?
- a)Twelve
- b)Fifteen
- c)Sixteen
- d)Seventeen
Show the answer
Answer: (c) Sixteen
The workbook states the standards have sixteen thematic areas, numbered SAS 100 to SAS 1600.
Seventeen is the tempting distractor because there are 17 SDGs.
2.The Social Impact Assessment Framework in India has been developed by ______ to provide a social impact assessor guidance for conducting a social impact assessment.
- a)SEBI
- b)ICAI
- c)RBI
- d)UNDP
Show the answer
Answer: (b) ICAI
The workbook states: "The Social Impact Assessment (Audit) Framework developed by ICAI provides a Social Impact Assessor guidance for conducting an assessment." ICAI also issues the thematic SASs.
SEBI defines the assessor in the ICDR Regulations and runs the SSE framework, but it did not develop the assessment framework.
3.Who has prescribed the minimum requirements for registration of a Not for Profit Organisation on a Social Stock Exchange?
- a)RBI
- b)SEBI
- c)ICAI
- d)NISM
Show the answer
Answer: (b) SEBI
The workbook states the minimum requirements for NPO registration have been specified by SEBI through its circulars.
ICAI issues the social impact assessment standards, NISM conducts the certification, and RBI regulates banks — none of them sets SSE registration requirements.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series XXIIIRelated terms
- Primacy of social intentThe ICDR condition every social enterprise must establish before using an SSE: an eligible social activity, an underserved target population and, for an FPSE, at least 67% of activities qualifying.
- Social Impact AssessmentA systematic evaluation of the social, ethical, cultural and environmental consequences of a project or organisation — positive and negative, intended and unintended — taking an "outside in" view.
- 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.
- Focus Group DiscussionA qualitative data-collection method in which a small group of stakeholders discuss an issue in a structured session led by a facilitator, used in SIA to gather insights and validate survey data.