Consensus on expenses: Sorp disclosure is sufficient

Finance | Tania Mason | 25 Oct 2010

There is little appetite among the UK’s largest charities for more detailed reporting of the expenses incurred by trustees and senior management, a new survey shows.

Six months after the Independent Expert Group on Charity Expenses said it was “desirable” that charities should publish the expenses of their trustees and senior managers, Civil Society surveyed the largest 100 charities by income to see if they planned to follow this advice.

Of the 76 charities that took part in the research, three-quarters confirmed that they already follow the SORP recommendation to publish the total amounts claimed by their trustee board. Most use their annual accounts to furnish this information.

But only 27 (35 per cent) went further and published the expenses claimed by senior staff, and just three reported the total reimbursed to their chief executive.

Not a single charity published the individual claims of trustees or executives, and none said they planned to or thought it necessary.

Most of those that did report chose their annual report and accounts as the preferred vehicle; others opted for their trustees’ annual report or charity website.

The Independent Expert Group on Charity Expenses was set up by NCVO and CFDG last autumn after Civil Society invited the chief executives of the major sector umbrella bodies to publish their expenses in the wake of the MPs’ expenses scandal. The group’s consultation with the sector attracted more than 600 responses.

For a more comprehensive report on the expenses survey, see the November edition of Charity Finance or click here.

Directory: ActionAid | Barnardo's | Charity Finance | National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) | Oxfam

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