This paper provides empirical evidence which informs contemporary debates on developing international financial reporting standards for not‐for‐profit organisations (NPOs). Drawing on a global survey with respondents showing experience of NPO reporting in 179 countries, we explore: practice and beliefs about NPO financial reporting internationally; perceptions of accountability between NPOs and stakeholders; and implications for developing international financial reporting standards. Interpreting our research in the context of accountability, we find considerable support for developing international financial reporting standards for NPOs, recognising broad stewardship accountability to all stakeholders as important, but prioritising accountability upwards to external funders and regulators.

Charitable status is inherently linked in many jurisdictions with the requirement that an entity must be established for public benefit. But, until recently the public benefit principle had relatively little impact on the operations of most established charities. However, in England and Wales, reforms linked to the Charities Act 2006 led to a new requirement for public benefit reporting in the trustees' annual report (TAR) of every registered charity. This new narrative reporting requirement had the potential to affect the understanding of accountability by charities. The paper investigates the impact of that requirement through a study of over 1400 sets of charity reports and accounts and subsequent qualitative work with trustees and others involved in preparing TARs.

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This article contrasts the emergence of two specific incorporated structures for non-profit organizations which came into being more than a century apart. We compare the ability for charities to form as “incorporated societies” under the New Zealand Incorporated Societies Act 1908 (effective from 1909), and to form as “charitable incorporated organizations” (CIOs), which were enacted in England and Wales under the Charities Act 2006 (effective from 2013). The article emphasizes the need for charitable non-profit organizations to incorporate for effective operation. This issue is rarely discussed, but the chosen legal form brings specific financial accounting obligations, affecting organizations’ accountability to third parties. Taking a comparative international history approach and drawing on a range of sources, we explore the socio-legal processes which led to the relevant legislation in each country. In particular, this diffusion study investigates why a specific corporate form for charitable non-profit organizations came into effect more than 100 years later in England as compared to New Zealand, with “place” emerging as the most significant comparative dimension.

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