Is Social Audit necessary? Do you agree that the Social Auditor must examine social issues to ensure that the impacts on local communities and natural resources are adequately mitigated ?

Yes, Social audit is necessary to ascertain the impact made by the Social Enterprise through its activities, intervention, programs or projects implemented during the reporting period. It aims to highlight the positive impact made to the target area, unintended negative impact and gap between desired object and actual. The following are the advantages of Social Audit: Financial data on social activities/programs/interventions: Social Audit assesses the source of funding, its utilisation and appropriate reporting to the Governing Body of the Social Enterprise. Encourages for social performance: Social Audit assesses the impact of the activities undertaken and brings the social point of view to the attention of the management, and thus encourages the Social Enterprise to perform better. Improves relationships with Stakeholders: By implementing the auditors' recommended improvements, the Social Enterprise can meet stakeholder expectations, enabling it to build a good relationship with them in the long term. Comparison of different activities: The Social Audit provides data for comparing effectiveness of different types of social welfare programmes undertaken and this further enables to assess which activity has better social impact. Enhances Social Reputation: Social Audit helps the organization to build up the image and reputation of the organization in the minds of the public. Sense of Social Responsibility among Shareholders and Community as a whole: Social Audit helps shareholders as well as other stakeholders realize the importance of socially beneficial programmes and extend their cooperation to the Social Enterprise's programmes of social welfare and development. Different projects may have a very different list of social issues. The Social Auditor is to exercise his own technical judgement to determine which issues should be subject to inquiry. Yes, Social Auditor was obligated to examine the project's impact on shared natural resources (water bodies) and the displacement of marginalized demographic groups (indigenous and seasonal workers). Addressing these issues would have provided SIL with the necessary foresight to avoid local conflict and regulatory scrutiny through early mitigation.