Skip to main content
NISM Exam
Certification • Social Auditors

NISM Exam

If your firm does assurance work, the Social Stock Exchange has opened a new line of it. Every NPO that raises on the SSE must have its annual impact report audited by a registered Social Auditor — and the entry point to that role is the NISM Series XXIII: Social Auditors Certification Examination.

By SSE4NGO Editorial Team 28 Jan 2026 6 min read

Quick summary

NISM Series XXIII — the Social Auditors Certification Examination — is a 2-hour, 100-mark assessment covering social auditing, impact assessment and SSE reporting standards. Candidates must score at least 60% to pass, with 25% negative marking per wrong answer. Passing it is the first of two steps to becoming a registered Social Auditor; the second is registering with a Self-Regulatory Organisation.

Examination Objectives

  1. 01

    Know the basics of social auditing, Code of conduct of Social Auditors.

  2. 02

    Understand the general concepts related to social stock exchange, social audit and social impact assessment.

  3. 03

    Know the Social Impact Reporting disclosures and regulations.

Examination Objectives

Assessment Structure

The examination should be completed in 2 hours. The passing score for the examination is 60. There shall be negative marking of 25 percent of the marks assigned to a question.

Type of Questions

Number of Questions

Marks per Question

Total Marks

Multiple Choice Questions

85

1

85

Case-based Questions

3 cases × 5 qns

1

15

Test Details

  1. 01

    Name of Module: NISM Series XXIII: Social Auditors Certification Examination ~ 85 multiple-choice and 3 case-based/caselet questions (each case having 5 questions) totaling to 100 marks.

  2. 02

    Negative marking – 25% of the marks assigned to the question.

  3. 03

    Payment Gateway Charges extra.

  4. 04

    Passing Certificate will be issued only to those candidates who have furnished/ updated their Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) in their registration details.

Who should take it — and the path to empanelment

The exam suits professionals who want to sign off social audits on the SSE — for a CA firm, it sits naturally alongside existing assurance work. NISM sets the eligibility:

  • Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries or Cost Accountants with a valid Certificate of Practice

  • UGC postgraduates with three years in the development sector

  • UGC graduates with six years in the development sector

Passing the exam is only half the path — to be empanelled as a Social Auditor you must also register with a Self-Regulatory Organisation (ICAI's ISAI, ICMAI's SAO, or ICSI's IISA). The pull behind it is structural: every NPO that raises on the SSE must file an annual impact report audited by a registered Social Auditor, and as more NPOs list and corporate CSR money flows in, that requirement scales with them.