Disclosure practices and policies of UK charities

This study examined the narrative disclosure practices and policies of a sample of large fund-raising and grant-making charities within the UK. Through a combination of holistic content analysis of the form and content of reporting packages and a series of interviews with charity managers it explored the motivations for the disclosure practices observed from the content analysis. The report documents what is reported (practices) as well as why it is so (policies). (Ref: RR-108)

ACCA research report no. 108

Juliana Jetty
University of Glasgow

Vivien Beattie
University of Glasgow

 

The study examined the nature and content of the information disclosed via a multidimensional framework, based on a framework developed by Beattie et al., which has been adapted for use in the charity sector.

Specifically, this study applied a micro-level content analysis of the topic and type attributes of the narratives contained within a small sample of UK charities’ annual reports and annual reviews.

Using these results as contextual background information, the study explored the motivations, drivers and constraints relating to charity disclosure through interviews with the preparers of a matched sample of organisations.

The report contains six chapters. The relevant literature is reviewed in Chapter 2. The data and research approach are described in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 analyses the results of the disclosure content analysis while Chapter 5 interprets the interviews conducted. Finally, Chapter 6 provides a summary of the findings, offers conclusions and makes recommendations for future research