Social Impact Assessor
An 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.
In plain language
Think of a statutory auditor. That person checks a company's balance sheet. A Social Impact Assessor does a similar job for an Annual Impact Report. They are the independent expert who checks whether the claims in it are true.
SEBI created this kind of professional for the Social Stock Exchange. The SEBI ICDR Regulations define who counts. In short, a social impact assessor is an individual who:
- is registered with a self-regulatory organisation under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, or with another agency SEBI names;
- has passed a certification program run by the National Institute of Securities Markets;
- holds a valid certificate.
So there are three conditions, and all are needed. It must be an individual. They must be registered with an SRO. And they must have passed the NISM certification and still hold a valid certificate. This exam is that certification.
What do they do? Social Impact Assessors perform independent verification of impact reporting. That means they check impact reports from the outside. Chapter 2 is clear on this: social impact assessment shall be mandatory for entities on SSE.
How it works
Who can be one (Chapter 5, 5.3.3 and Table 5.1):
- Chartered Accountant (CA)
- Company Secretary (CS)
- Cost and Management Accountant (CMA)
- Post-graduate from a UGC-recognised university with at least 3 years of development-sector experience
- Graduate from a UGC-recognised university with at least 6 years of development-sector experience
- Any other person with suitable accreditations and at least 6 years of development-sector experience
Registration. Chapter 2 names three SROs for Social Impact Assessors:
- Institute of Social Auditors of India (ISAI) — a not-for-profit Section 8 company under the aegis of ICAI
- ICMAI Social Auditors Organization (ICMAI SAO) — under the Institute of Cost Accountants of India
- ICSI Institute of Social Auditors (ICSI ISA) — under the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Empanelment criteria (5.3.5): experience in assuring non-financial information, with social-sector experience weighted more; for firms, the number of partners or employees meeting the criteria; and disciplinary cases or sanctions, weighted negatively.
Code of conduct (5.3.2): non-judgmental attitude, integrity, objectivity, empathy, cultural sensitivity, transparency, constructive feedback, professionalism. The seven principles of impact assessment (5.2), drawn from ISO 19011, are integrity, fair presentation, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, evidence-based approach and risk-based approach.
In the engagement. The assessor is one of three parties, with the responsible party and the intended users. The assessor remains primarily responsible for the report even when field agencies or experts do part of the work, and should not refer to an expert's work in the report unless law or regulation requires it.
A worked example
Illustrative candidates tested against the workbook's eligibility list.
Five people want to sign SSE impact assessments.
| Candidate | Qualification | Development-sector experience | Eligible to be an SIA? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aditi, Pune | CA | 1 year | Yes — CA qualifies with no experience condition, once she passes NISM and registers with an SRO |
| Ramesh, Lucknow | MA Sociology (UGC university) | 4 years | Yes — PG with at least 3 years |
| Farzana, Hyderabad | BCom (UGC university) | 5 years | Not yet — a graduate needs 6 years |
| Joseph, Kochi | CMA | 0 years | Yes — CMA qualifies |
| Kavya, Bengaluru | Graduate plus sector accreditation | 7 years | Yes — other accredited person with at least 6 years |
The two further gates everyone must clear:
- Pass the NISM Series XXIII certification and hold a valid certificate.
- Register with an SRO — ISAI, ICMAI SAO or ICSI ISA.
Aditi, a CA, is not an SIA the day she qualifies as a CA. She becomes one only after clearing NISM and registering with an SRO. Farzana becomes eligible in one more year. Her 5 years is enough for nothing on the list: it is too short for a graduate, and she lacks the post-graduate degree that would make 3 years enough.
Why NISM asks about it
Chapter 2 (2.2.3, 2.2.6) defines the assessor and names the SROs. Chapter 5 (10%) covers the principles, code of conduct, certification, competencies, empanelment, scope of work and the whole engagement. Chapter 8's sample report shows the assessor quoting an SRO registration number and confirming the SRO's code of conduct. Expect eligibility questions (3 years vs 6 years), the three-part definition, the SRO names, the ISO 19011 principles, and the three-party relationship.
Common exam traps
- PG needs 3 years; graduate needs 6 years; other accredited persons need 6 years. CA, CS and CMA need none.
- A Social Impact Assessor is an individual. A firm that employs assessors is a Social Impact Assessment Organisation.
- Registration is with an SRO, certification is by NISM. ICAI does not certify; NISM does not register.
- The workbook names the SRO three slightly different ways. The ICDR definition says "an SRO under ICAI or such other agency as SEBI specifies". Chapter 2 names three SROs (ISAI, ICMAI SAO, ICSI ISA). Chapter 5 (5.3.3) says assessors register "with an SRO under the Institute of Social Auditors of India (ISAI)". ISAI is the ICAI SRO, and it is not the only one.
- Chapter 5 misspells NISM as "National Institution of Securities Market" in 5.9.1(a). Chapter 2 and 5.3.1 say "Institute". Same body.
- The seven principles come from ISO 19011, not ISO 26000. ISO 26000 is guidance on social responsibility, listed among the standards an assessor should know.
- The responsible party may not be the engaging party — a donor can engage the assessor.
Check yourself
1.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.
2.Three Party Relationship involving a social impact assessor, a responsible party and intended users is an element of:
- a)Social Intervention
- b)Social Project Monitoring Framework
- c)Social Impact Assessment Engagement
- d)Audit Evidence
Show the answer
Answer: (c) Social Impact Assessment Engagement
The five elements of a social impact assessment engagement are: three party relationship, social project scope, Social Project Monitoring Framework, evidence, and report.
The monitoring framework and evidence are themselves elements of the engagement — not the containers of the three-party relationship.
3._______ contributes to the social impact assessor's understanding of the projects and their nuances, and helps identify key evaluation parameters, thematic areas of intervention and benefits rendered to the community.
- a)Social Intervention
- b)Social Project Monitoring Framework
- c)Social Impact Assessment Engagement
- d)Audit Evidence
Show the answer
Answer: (b) Social Project Monitoring Framework
The Social Project Monitoring Framework details inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impact, and contributes to the assessor's understanding of the project, key evaluation parameters, thematic areas and community benefits.
It is built on Theory of Change or the Logical Framework Approach.
Where this is taught
Free preparation for NISM Series XXIIIRelated terms
- 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.
- Annual Impact ReportThe yearly report of social impact every social enterprise registered on or raising funds through an SSE must file under LODR Regulation 91E, covering at least 67% of the previous year's programme expenditure.
- 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 Assessment StandardsICAI'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.
- 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 Stock Exchange Governing CouncilThe council every Social Stock Exchange must set up to oversee its functioning, with balanced stakeholder representation and guidance on registration, fund raising and disclosures by social enterprises.
- Information RepositoryAn SSE participant that enumerates, standardises and verifies information on NPOs, keeping a reliable electronic database so donors and investors can compare them; NGO DARPAN is India's public example.
- 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.
- 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.
- NGRBCNational Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct — nine MCA principles for businesses of every kind, the basis for BRSR reporting by the top 1,000 companies; criticised as not legally enforceable.
- Responsible partyIn a social impact assessment, the person or persons of the social enterprise who implement the social project — one of three parties, with the assessor and the intended users.
- Adjudication proceedingsThe process SEBI initiates against a defaulting intermediary under the SEBI Act, 1992 — triggered by failures such as not furnishing information or returns, or not entering into a client agreement.
- Audit trailThe traceable record of the data, decisions and stakeholders behind a Social Impact Report — required as a component of the report itself, and needed to retrieve primary data when the assessor checks it.
- Engaging partyThe person who engages the social impact assessor for an assessment — often the donor — and who may or may not be the same as the responsible party actually implementing the project.
- BaselineThe starting-point measurement of a project or programme, taken before an intervention begins, used to establish what actually changed as a result of it.
- Engagement fileThe assembled record — hard copy or soft copy — of an assessor's engagement documentation, which must be completed within about 60 days of the social impact assessment report and then kept, not discarded.
- Form 3.1The reporting format for the independent Social Impact Assessor's Annual Social Impact Assessment Report, prepared under Regulation 91E(2) of the SEBI LODR Regulations, 2015.
- Outside in approachThe perspective separating a Social Impact Assessment from a financial audit — judging an organisation by how its non-financial stakeholders experience it, not by how its own managers see it.
- SAS FrameworkThe overarching document setting what any Social Impact Assessment engagement must cover — a frame of reference for assessors and users, but with no thematic-specific standards of its own.
- Sampling unitThe minimum unit of observation in a social impact assessment's sample design — a social unit such as a family, or a geographical unit such as a village — the basic building block behind every sample figure.
- Scope limitationThe situation where a social impact assessor cannot obtain enough appropriate evidence, forcing a qualified opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, or withdrawal from the engagement.
- Qualified opinionThe modified conclusion a social impact assessor issues when unable to obtain sufficient evidence, or when the impact report as a whole is not free from material mismanagement.
- SAS 200The thematic standard for health care, mental healthcare and safe drinking water, illustrated in the workbook by a cataract-surgery case study screening over 50,000 people.
- SAS 400The thematic standard for gender equality, women's empowerment and LGBTQIA+ communities, illustrated by NGO Sakhi's women's healthcare programme reaching over 20,000 direct beneficiaries.
- SAS 500The thematic standard for environmental sustainability, climate change and conservation, illustrated by AB Responsible Services' watershed programme across 18 villages in Maharashtra.
- Written representationsA written statement obtained from an NPO's management, and its governance body, on material assessment issues — necessary audit evidence for a Social Impact Assessor, but never sufficient on its own.
- Institute of Social Auditors of IndiaThe 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.
- Intended usersThe person, persons or class of persons for whom a social impact assessor prepares the report — the third leg of the assessment engagement, alongside the assessor and the responsible party.
- Material departureA significant failure to follow the Social Impact Assessment Standards, which the assessor must draw attention to in the report rather than leave unsaid.
- Inherent limitationThe standing clause at the end of a social impact assessment report stating that it is not an opinion, attestation, certification or any other form of assurance.
- ICDR RegulationsSEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 — the rulebook for raising capital, whose Chapter X-A governs the Social Stock Exchange, NPO registration and ZCZP issuance.