This study is the first in-depth study of the form and content of the narrative element of charities’ reporting documents. It offers insights into why charities choose to disclose (or not disclose) in their public reporting documents. (Ref: RR-109)
Dr Ciaran Connolly
Queen’s University, Belfast
Dr Alpa Dhanani
Cardiff University
Chapter 2 presents the literature review, which examines both the concept of accountability in the context of NFP organisations and previous research into organisational accountability through reporting mechanisms, such as the annual report and the Internet.
Chapter 3 describes the research methods adopted to assess the patterns of reporting in the charity annual reports, annual reviews and websites.
Chapters 4 to 6 present the results of the research. Specifically, Chapters 4 and 5 report the findings from the analysis of the charity annual reports and annual reviews and websites respectively, while Chapter 6 reflects on the interviews with senior charity personnel.
Chapter 7 summarises the main findings and identifies areas for future research.
Many library-based sources were used in conducting this research, and these are reflected in the extensive references provided in the report. The authors relied on numerous sources of information, many of which could be accessed via the Internet. Some of those that the authors found particularly useful are presented in Appendix A.