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Accountability Beyond the Headlines: Why Not‐for‐profit Organisations Need to Communicate Their Own Expenditure Stories
Author(s) -
Ryan Christine,
Irvine Helen
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
australian accounting review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.551
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1835-2561
pISSN - 1035-6908
DOI - 10.1111/j.1835-2561.2012.00192.x
Subject(s) - accountability , stakeholder , business , profit (economics) , public relations , perception , accounting , order (exchange) , not for profit , marketing , finance , economics , political science , psychology , microeconomics , law , neuroscience
This paper analyses the expenditure patterns of 97 Australian international aid and development organisations, and examines the extent to which they disclose information about their expenditure in order to discharge their accountability. Not‐for‐profit (NFP) expenditure attracts media attention, with perceptions of excessive costs potentially damaging stakeholder trust in NFP organisations. This makes it important for organisations to be proactive in communicating their expenditure stories to stakeholders, rather than being judged on their performance by standardised expenditure metrics. By highlighting what it costs to ensure longer‐term operational capability, NFP organisations will contribute to the discharge of their financial accountability and play a part in educating all stakeholders about the dangers of relying on a single metric.