NGO accounting and accountability: past, present and future

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to introduce key themes of NGO accounting and accountability and provide an overview of the papers included in this special issue. These papers deal with formal reporting issues related to the regulatory requirements as well as various alternative forms of informal accountability mechanisms which are more related with the core social purpose of the organisation. This special issue contributes not only to the scholarly debates on NGO accounting and accountability but also to the various issues facing policy makers and NGO practitioners. We have provided a robust research agenda for future researchers. HIGHLIGHTS. We define the term 'NGO' for the purposes of this issue, concluding that NGOs' social purposes and the constraint on distribution of surpluses are the two common characteristics.. This definition encourages researchers to cast their net wider when considering contexts in which to undertake their NGO study.. NGO accountability discharge is broadening to a wider range of stakeholders.. There are many NGO accounting and accountability issues that warrant further research.

NGO responses to financial evaluation: auditability, purification and performance

“…In the case studied, the movement from "purity" to "eligibility" is materialised through the emergence of a "zero ineligibility" indicator. This finding emerges after several decades of debates, proposals and calls for more holistic NGO accountability (Everett and Friesen, 2010;Unerman, 2007, 2008;Krause, 2014;Unerman and O'Dwyer, 2010;Agyemang et al, 2019;Cordery et al, 2019). The case organisation instead narrows the focus and uses a standardised, quantified, onedimensional instrument to assess and communicate its performance: a single accountingbased performance indicator.…”

“…Large donors lay down financial reporting templates and rigid accounting procedures (Ebrahim, 2002), inundating NGOs with administrative and costing requirements (Martinez and Cooper, 2017) that focus their attention on financial results (Duval et al, 2015;Kuruppu and Lodhia, 2020). To ensure financial and procedural compliance, large donors also require NGOs to submit their operations to compliance and financial audits (Goddard and Assad, 2006;Assad and Goddard, 2010;Cordery et al, 2019).…”

“…NGOs often portray these demands as an excessive burden that can create absurd situations (Christensen and Ebrahim, 2006). Yet they have no choice: they must comply if they want to secure access to funding (Chenhall et al, 2010;Goddard and Assad, 2006;Cordery et al, 2019). Recent articles, however, have started to argue that NGOs can find ways to mitigate the influence such forms of hierarchical accountability have on their aims (Agyemang et al, 2019).…”

We are what we tell: an enquiry into NGOs' organizational identity and accountability

“…In such settings, individuals are not only "being held responsible" but are also "feeling responsible" (O'Dwyer and Boomsma, 2015, 40-41;Ebrahim, 2003). Accountability becomes "an intrinsic experience in daily organizational life" (Fry, 1995, 181;Roberts, 1991;McKernan, 2012), a profound sense of moral obligation (Shearer, 2002;Dixon et al, 2006;O'Dwyer and Unerman, 2008) that often finds expression in informal and alternative accounts (Cordery et al, 2019). NGOs' accountability indeed goes well beyond formal and economic accountability (Cordery et al, 2019;Costa and Andreaus, 2020).…”

Feasibility Analysis of Chinese NGOs Participating in Preschool Education

“…Accounting and accountability practices differ according to the type of NGOs. We urge the future researchers to pay attention to a number of areas of NGO accountability and governance by taking a more critical perspective on it [1]. Financial incentives and resources committed by NGOs can foster collaborative relationships with journalists, thus increasing promotional and advocacy-based reporting [2].…”