Good deeds, numbers: Auditor drought

A recent move by the Securities and Exchange Board of India has spotlighted the small but crucial industry of social impact asses-sors

- Neha Joshi

A recent move by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to refine compliance rules for the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) has spotlighted the small but crucial industry of social impact assessors.

This specialized group, responsible for verifying the real-world impact of social enterprises, is now facing a surge in demand that is severely testing its capacity.

As nonprofits increasingly turn to the SSE to raise funds, the credibility of this new-age platform rests on the shoulders of its auditors. They must ensure that every rupee raised translates into genuine, measurable social change.

However, with a limited pool of qualified professionals, the sector is grappling with a potential supply-demand gap, a lack of standardized practices and the immense challenge of quantifying social good.

This has shifted the focus from the SSE itself to the ecosystem of auditors tasked with upholding its integrity.

Launched in 2022, the SSE framework initially mandated that all registered social enterprises (SEs) submit an audited Annual Impact Report (AIR). But a Sebi circular on 19 September 2025 recalibrated this rule, restricting the mandatory audit to only those SEs that have successfully raised funds through the exchange.