27% of Irish NGOs file abridged accounts

A major report into the Irish NGO sector shows that more than a quarter of all organisations chose to file abridged financial statements, which “provide no information about the sources of their income”.

27% of Irish NGOs file abridged accounts

Using public data derived from more than 8,000 nonprofit company reports for 2013, 2014 and 2015 in Ireland, the report has identified some key trends in the sector, which employs almost 150,000 people, turns over nearly €11bn annually and accounts for 8% of all current Exchequer expenditure.

The report was compiled by Benefacts, an NGO that provides free public access to extensive information about the entire non-profit sector in Ireland. One of the key trends was in relation to how NGOs file their accounts.

“Notwithstanding the public demand for transparency, more than a quarter of the non-profits (27%) chose in 2015 to publish abridged financial statements. This is a disclosure standard that provides no information about their current income and expenditure,” reads the Benefacts report.

Other key trends relate to the Government’s reliance on and funding of NGOs to carry out certain functions in society.

A total of 310 charities and other non-profits delivering public services as quasi- public bodies receive more than 70% of the €5.3bn which the Government commits in funding annually to the sector.

According to the report, these 310 organisations shoring up 70% of the funding are higher education bodies, voluntary hospitals and local service providers.

“More and more of this public funding is by way of service contracts rather than grants, and a sizeable proportion of it is paid to a few hundred organisations whose employees are remunerated as though they were public servants, even though they are employed by independently-governed voluntary organisations,” states the report.

In relation to salaries within the NGO sector, the report showed that an extremely small number of employees earned more than €70,000.

“Just over 1% of people receive more than €70,000 in annual remuneration compared to 12.8% in the workforce at large, and most of the higher-paid people are working in quasi-public bodies where their salaries are linked to public sector pay scales,” states the Benefact report.

Managing director of Benefacts, Patricia Quinn, said her NGO has committed to making this an annual report.

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