Professor Gareth Morgan has been appointed to co-lead a new project examining local not-for-profit accounting practices in other countries.

The project, commissioned by a group of UK and Irish accountancy bodies including ICAEW and ACCA, aims to establish whether or not it would be useful to develop an international financial reporting framework, guidance or standards for civil society groups.

A survey will be issued in November and promoted to organisations and individuals around the world for completion. The results will be published in the first quarter of 2014.

Prof Morgan, from Sheffield Hallam University, will lead the project in conjunction with Dr Louise Crawford from the University of Dundee. They will also receive support from academics from University College Dublin and Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.

The initiative has the backing of five professional accountancy bodies that make up an umbrella group called CCAB – Accountants for Growth. ICAS, Cipfa and Chartered Accountants Ireland make up its other three members.  Between them they represent nearly 246,000 accounting professionals in the UK and Ireland, and so enable the group to “speak with authority for the UK accountancy profession”.

Representatives from each of these membership bodies, along with charity umbrella bodies, professional firms and international charities, have formed a steering committee to oversee and guide the research.

CCAB chairman Anthony Harbinson, said the project would “seek to establish definitions and current approaches to financial reporting by the sector in different jurisdictions around the world.

“Ultimately, the aim is to promote discussion on possible ways forward.”

The project arose out of a symposium organised by CFG last summer, and it is part of the steering committee. Head of policy Jane Tully said CFG was delighted that CCAB had found some funding to take the project forward.

"This is a ground-breaking project which will help us to build the evidence base around how not-for-profits report financial information on an international scale," she said. "The support of the CCAB enables the sector to take the first steps to engage wider audiences."