CS Professional · June 2026 · Paper 4.1
CS Professional CSR and Social Governance June 2026: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICSI; read them on ICSI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(a)(i) | 2 | CSR as ethical treatment of stakeholders and as a business strategy | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| 1(a)(ii) | 3 | How absence of a CSR assessment impairs identification of ethical gaps and board decision-making | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| 1(b) | 5 | Auditor responsibilities on CSR spending and verifying fund utilisation reports of implementing agencies | Social Impact Assessment and CSR Audit |
| 1(c)(i) | 3 | Shareholder wealth view versus social responsibility of business | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| 1(c)(ii) | 2 | Whether CSR programmes are confined to large corporations | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| 1(d)(i) | 2 | Tools to test whether a company is CSR-proof | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| 1(d)(ii) | 2 | CSR guidelines for central public sector enterprises in aspirational districts | Guidelines on CSR |
| 1(d)(iii) | 1 | Goals of integrated reporting | Impact of CSR |
| 2(a) | 5 | Treatment of unspent CSR amounts for ongoing and other projects and validity of the implementation mechanism | CSR Policy |
| 2(b) | 5 | Mandatory impact assessment of CSR projects: applicability, timing and independent evaluator | Social Impact Assessment and CSR Audit |
| 2(c) | 5 | Functions of the CSR Committee and the annual action plan under the CSR Rules | CSR Policy |
| 3(a) | 5 | Disclosures to stakeholders and factors determining materiality of information | Impact of CSR |
| 3(b) | 5 | CSR applicability to private and public sector banks and RBI norms on donations | Guidelines on CSR |
| 3(c) | 5 | Triple bottom line pillars and strengthening the neglected social pillar | CSR and Sustainable Development Goals |
| 3A(i) | 5 | National guidelines on responsible business conduct: principles on human rights and sustainable goods and services | Guidelines on CSR |
| 3A(ii) | 5 | Social impact assessment and social impact indicators with examples | Social Impact Assessment and CSR Audit |
| 3A(iii) | 5 | General guiding principles applicable to CSR of central public sector enterprises | Guidelines on CSR |
| 4(a)(i) | 5 | Steps to set up a social governance framework before a high-impact project | Social Governance |
| 4(a)(ii) | 5 | Need for social audit and the scope of issues a social auditor must examine | Social Governance |
| 4(b) | 5 | True or false statements on foreign contribution rules, permitted educational activities and meeting practices | Foreign Funding to Non-Corporate Entities |
| 4(c) | 5 | Features of a sole proprietorship and registrations applicable to it | Contribution of Non-Corporate Entities in Social Governance |
| 5(a)(i) | 2 | Who convenes meetings of non-corporate entities and their role | Model Code for Meetings of Non-Corporate Entities |
| 5(a)(ii) | 3 | Documents to be drafted for effective meetings and who drafts them | Model Code for Meetings of Non-Corporate Entities |
| 5(b) | 5 | Merits and key takeaways of standardised financial and non-financial reporting by non-corporate entities | Financial and Non-financial Reporting of Different Non-Corporate Entities |
| 5(c)(i) | 2 | Meaning of foreign contribution and modes of obtaining permission to accept it | Foreign Funding to Non-Corporate Entities |
| 5(c)(ii) | 3 | Permissible educational activities for associations receiving foreign contribution | Foreign Funding to Non-Corporate Entities |
| 6(a)(i) | 1 | Historical development of elected municipal bodies in colonial India | Local Self Governance |
| 6(a)(ii) | 2 | Reforms widening public participation in local governance | Local Self Governance |
| 6(a)(iii) | 2 | Lapse of a local governance constitutional bill on dissolution of government | Local Self Governance |
| 6(b) | 5 | Settlement of accounts on dissolution of a firm and right to return of premium under the Partnership Act | Partnership Firms |
| 6(c) | 5 | Validity of a public charitable trust, modification of objects by court and classification of trusts | Societies and Trusts |
| 6A(i)(a) | 1 | Ancient account of local administration from a foreign envoy | Local Self Governance |
| 6A(i)(b) | 2 | Constitutional amendments establishing democratic decentralisation | Local Self Governance |
| 6A(i)(c) | 2 | Authority to report misconduct of village panchayat office bearers | Local Self Governance |
| 6A(ii) | 5 | Maintainability of a suit by an unregistered or reconstituted partnership firm | Partnership Firms |
| 6A(iii) | 5 | Documents for registering a society and alteration of its objects | Societies and Trusts |
What stood out
- Part I (Q1 to Q3, 50 marks) on CSR and Part II (Q4 to Q6, 50 marks) on social governance and non-corporate entities; choices in Q3/Q3A and Q6/Q6A.
- Highly fragmented paper: 36 entries including several 1- and 2-mark sub-parts, so breadth of coverage mattered more than depth.
- Core CSR chapters (CSR, CSR Policy, Social Impact Assessment and CSR Audit, Guidelines on CSR) carried 39 marks on the compulsory path.
- Foreign funding to non-corporate entities drew 10 marks, and Local Self Governance was tested through short factual recall parts on both Q6 and Q6A.
- Compulsory-path mix: 50 marks application problems, 32 marks theory, 18 marks case-based.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Guidelines on CSR, Social Impact Assessment and CSR Audit, Corporate Social Responsibility: study guides and practice questions in the CS Professional format.