SHG & Community Audit

Self Help Group & Community Audit

In India, Self Help Groups or SHGs represent a unique approach to financial intermediation. The approach combines access to low-cost financial services involving a process of self management, with an objective of social and economic development for the women SHG members. Formations of SHGs are facilitated by the Government or by NGOs. SHGs are linked not only to banks but also to wider development programmes, SHGs are seen to confer many benefits, both economic and social. SHGs encourage women to save and to access the credit which banks are increasingly willing to lend. SHGs can also be community platforms from which women encouraged to become socially active specially with regard to issues affecting their daily life. At present West Bengal has about 4.5 lakh SHGs under 3349 Gram Panchayats, turnover of each SHG unit has been estimated upto Rs.5 lac p.a. totaling around Rs.22,500 crores. The Institute hopes to strengthen them through this activity which would not only grow women entrepreneurship, but also support SME sector, financial inclusion, poverty eradication and if applied in other states, could contribute towards their socio-economic development also.
As expert accounting professionals are hardly available at Gram Panchayat level, the need of the hour is “Community Audit” and it is necessary to develop sufficient number of “Community Auditors” for the sake of financial transparency.

  At this outset, ICAI-CMA & WBSRLM have entered into a MOU to enable undertaking of various collaborative activities for establishing “Community Audit” system for Self Help Groups in West Bengal by developing sufficient number of quality “Community Auditors” for meeting the audit needs of SHGs in the state.