SEBI’s accessibility audit mandate burdening small advisers: Noble intent, impractical roll-out, they say

SEBI’s accessibility audit mandate burdening small advisers: Noble intent, impractical roll-out, they say

The latest push by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to make every investor-facing digital touchpoint accessible to persons with disabilities has sparked a chorus of concern from small research and investment advisers.

The July circular requires intermediaries to get their websites, client portals and even investor communications audited by International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)-certified auditors, with the appointment deadline fixed on September 15 — a deadline they call unrealistic given the limited supply of auditors and the cost stack that follows. The move follows a recent Supreme Court directions on digital accessibility.

At the core is auditor scarcity. “What I have been able to figure is that there are only 10 to 15 IAAP-certified auditors in India,” said independent research analyst Nitin Mangal. He argues the framework leans on a foreign accreditation body and should have been preceded by a domestic ecosystem of trained professionals. “Why depend on auditors not based in India? Create an Indian accreditation, build capacity, and costs will normalize,” he said.

Like him, many smaller players feel the entire process seems rushed without much consideration to the on-ground reality. “First you appoint us by September 15 (deadline for the regulation implementation); then we review your website/portal and even client emails, and then tell you what to change.” Mangal added that initial quotes he heard were Rs 20,000 for a two to three-page site and Rs 50,000 for a 10-15 pages site, with developer rework and recurring annual audit fees sitting on top. “With so few auditors, demand-supply will push costs higher,” he explained.

The scope — and the bill — can balloon quickly. Mangal said advisers who host years of research may face per-page certification for legacy PDFs. “I have six hundred reports. Even at Rs 10 per page for a ten-page report, that’s Rs 60,000 just to review what already exists — and this isn’t one-time; every new report would need a nod.”

A lawyer advising one of the firms said the scope of compliance could extend far beyond websites and reports, to include portals and investor communication templates — pushing up costs further.

Shikha Kapur, Co-founder, Sprout Research, underscored that accessibility itself isn’t the sticking point. “We’re happy to integrate sign-language videos, descriptive text and other features. The problem is the auditing mandate — with just 10-15 auditors and tight timelines like forty-five days for the first audit and follow-ups thereafter.”

For small advisers, she said, “compliance eats both money and mindshare,” especially after SEBI’s revised fee framework capped investment advisory fees at about Rs 1.51 lakh per family per annum (or 2.5 percent of assets under advice). “For boutiques with about Rs 1 to 2 crore turnover, it’s not viable; for a ₹500 to 600 crore broker, it barely registers.”

Interestingly, both warn of unintended consolidation. “Large brokers have the money power; small firms could shut,” Mangal said, adding that he knows advisers with annual revenue near Rs 10 lakh for whom a fresh layer of audits, portal rebuilds, and recurring checks is existential. Kapur is blunter on the field reality: “There is no level playing field when rules become economically unviable.”

One industry professional pointed out that even SEBI, BSE and IAAP websites are not fully compliant — a claim Moneycontrol could not independently verify at the time of publishing.

Kapoor added that this makes the playing field even more uneven, suggesting that either the external-audit requirement should be waived or SEBI/BSE should provide auditors at regulator cost for small intermediaries. “We’re keen to comply if the ecosystem exists,” she added.

Mangal’s alternative is operational: ask disability status at client onboarding and commit to delivering reports in accessible formats to those who need them, rather than forcing a wholesale system overhaul before capacity exists.

Bigger picture — compliance fatigue

Another industry player, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “If regulations were friendlier, more would register; instead, people are reluctant.” The person highlighted the voice gap among smaller advisers.

Another adviser, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bigger issue is the lack of a strong industry voice. “We don’t have a representative RA association. People fear speaking up, so regulations keep coming without practical checks. Without an ecosystem, diktats create anxiety,” the person said, estimating about 1,500 RAs are affected and hoping the rule is deferred or reworked.

The mandate’s goal of digital accessibility has wide support; the friction lies in capacity, cost and clock. A foreign accreditation dependency, single-digit supply of auditors, compressed timelines, and layered, recurring expenses risk tilting the field towards large brokerages while deterring small, regulated players — the very cohort the market needs for diversity and investor choice.

Until capacity is built — through domestic accreditation, regulator-provided audits for small firms, or phased timelines — compliance may end up as a barrier rather than a bridge, say industry players.

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