Carolyn Cordery

Victoria University of Wellington

More than 30 years ago, the ground-breaking work by Lester Salamon and Helmut Anheier launched global interest in research into the Third Sector. Yet the world is changing, and the relevance of the Social Origins Theory developed from the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project is now questioned. Third Sector organizations and movements...

The realm of societal advancement is multifaceted, involving a balance of public and private attention. Yet, nestled within this framework lies the Third Sector, a constantly evolving and dynamic entity. Comprising non-profit organizations, charities, voluntary groups, and social enterprises, the Third Sector is crucial in fostering social change,...

IMPACT The study examines the emotive power of accounting on social media (SM) within the context of war. The focus is on a Ukrainian charity and how it used joy-based and anger-based emotions on SM to attract financial donations during the war. This article's findings have implications for charities and other organizations, as they illustrate how...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report a study of public accountability within the political and economic structures that characterise Pacific nations. The authors examine audit quality with respect to Pacific Island nations’ governmental reporting to investigate ways to improve accountability in a region that is economically and environmen...

Purpose This paper aims to examine the lived experiences of a professional accountant, exploring how he navigated the complexity of change in specific accounting processes in the UK housing association (HA). Using an autoethnographic approach, the authors seek to relate individual and collective insights into the changing of social housing organisa...

Purpose Prior research finds that early-career professional accountants (early PAs) are generally dissatisfied with the learning and training opportunities offered during their early employment years, which impacts their career progression. This paper aims to examine whether different learning styles between these early PAs and their qualified acco...

Charity organizations’ accountability is crucial for their work and existence, as these organizations depend on continuous public donations. Meeting the needs of all stakeholders places additional challenges on charities and forces them to use different ways/forms of accountability. Recently, social media (SM) has been extensively used for both cha...

Ample survey research and content analysis has established that NGO internet presence is qualitatively weak and characterized by the dominance of asymmetrical communication. We argue that the emergent communicative and social paradigm of on-line interaction forms what could be defined as a wicked problem. NGOs, seen as a ‘sender’ of information, ma...

Charity regulation is increasing internationally, leading to divergent views on what might constitute “better regulation.” The purpose of a charity regulator and appropriate regulation may also be contested. Many modern charity regulators are required to maintain public trust and confidence in charities in order to bolster ongoing charity support f...

Purpose This paper aims to outline the motivation for this Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ) Special Issue, providing an overview of the six selected papers. This study seeks to inspire further ethnographic research on accountability. Design/methodology/approach The authors reflect on why ethnographic investigation is essentia...

Digital transformation creates opportunities and challenges for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their stakeholders. In NGOs, digital transformation affects different accounting modes. While many challenges brought about by digital transformation are universal, NGOs can be acutely affected due to the diversity of their stakeholders, regula...

The world is facing difficult, uncertain and challenging times, which have consequences for accounting practice, education and research. This new and uncertain environment may lead us to conclude that accounting research should focus on the present and develop answers to be implemented in the future. Does this mean that accounting history must be p...

This short editorial discusses the Special Issue on 'Critical perspectives on Accountability' and focuses on NGO research. It presents the nine papers selected for the Special Issue and, while celebrating the progression of NGO research in recent years, outlines areas where new research is needed.

Purpose The purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope to enliven the debates of the past and future developments in terms of context, themes, theories, methods and impacts in the field of PSAR by the exchanges they i...

This study examines a disability services funding reform which produced calculative (accounting) practices to frame non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs’) performance and accountability, and the role of digitalization, as a form of marketization, in reframing that performance and accountability. Drawing on the insights from Callon’s (1998) framing...

Achieving the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) at country and local levels—and ensuring “no one is left behind”—requires that nation states commit to solving complex social and societal challenges through collaborative, democratic means. Technocratic and bureaucratic procedures alone are insufficient. In addition to satisfyi...

In many countries, charity regulation data is increasingly publicly available at no cost from regulators and other intermediaries. This reporting includes not only financial data but also a range of performance information that can help us to evaluate these organisations’ progress towards their missions. Annual reporting data therefore represents a...

This study examines the structural and policy obstacles hampering free movement of philanthropic capital across the EU’s ‘sea of generosity’. While free movement of capital is a key element in the EU single market as enshrined in the Treaty of Maastricht, this principle previously focused on the for-profit sphere and efficient markets. In 2009, the...

Researching voluntary action: Innovations and challenges is the first book in a generation to examine the methodological issues inherent in studying voluntary action and volunteering, charitable giving and philanthropy, and the organisation and policy structures of the third sector. Drawing on a wide range of case studies from international researc...

Introduction Across the world, charities and voluntary organisations face increased public expectations of transparency and, perhaps relatedly, increased requirements to file annual reports with regulators. This reporting includes not only financial data, illuminating the financial position and sustainability of these organisations, but also, criti...

This paper presents a critical analysis of present approaches to studying not-for-profit performance reporting, and implications of research in this area. Focusing on three approaches: content analysis of publicly available performance reporting; quantitative analysis of financial data; and (rarer) mixed/other methods, we consider the impact of the...

In the future, environmental disasters and resource constraints will continue to impact the public sector audit environment. Governments will be held responsible for their responses and the corresponding financial impacts, particularly rising levels of public debt. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) are vital in keeping governments accountable. Yet,...

The Papal States was a longstanding nation ruled by the Pope, the Head of the Roman Catholic Church. Its accountants included priests and laymen who were employed as bureaucrats. Despite an expectation that the finances would be carefully managed, this research from the mid-nineteenth century shows that incompetence and fraud dogged the Papal State...

Professions enjoy privileged positions and expend efforts to sustain these in public and interprofessional domains. This research investigates a previously vacant and largely uncontested jurisdiction in the UK charity sector that was claimed, maintained and subsequently expanded by the accountancy profession. We find that the dominant involvement o...

Purpose Thailand is a developing economy underpinned by high levels of wealth inequality and an ingrained patronage culture. This research aims to examine how social enterprises (SEs) have been encouraged in Thailand in recent years as “micro-level challenges” to capitalism and their potential impact in addressing inequality. Design/methodology/ap...

Chapter 3 of our book, Public Sector Audit, analyses the current context of audit, including explaining further the different structures and mandates of SAIs, and the types of audit work that they undertake. We analyse the major features of SAIs and their settings, and set out this information in tables showing contextual factors that could explain...

Almost 200 countries around the world operate Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) which are responsible for compliance and performance audits of, variously public sector agencies, government as a whole, and often a raft of local government and other government-funded entities (The World Bank, 2001). The International Organisation of SAIs (INTOSAI) st...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review opportunities for future research about auditing in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the viewpoints of two researchers, supported by research that is cited in the paper. Findings Public sector auditing research has grown considerably. The authors expect further growth...

This special issue invites contributions from researchers, policy makers and practitioners covering a range of issues around interdisciplinary perspectives on NGO performance, governance and accountability in the era of digitalisation. It is connected to the regular NGO Research Day which has been held at Aston University and the University of Shef...

Purpose In this paper, we concentrate on the use of research assessment (RA) systems in universities in New Zealand (NZ) and the United Kingdom (UK). Primarily we focus on PBRF and REF, and explore differences between these systems on individual and systemic levels. We ask, these days, in what way(s) the systemic differences between PBRF and REF ac...

The Papal States represent a unique and long period in Italian government and in the government of the Roman Catholic Church prior to Italy's unification in 1870. The 25-year period prior to unification was a particularly tumultuous period when the Papal States struggled for survival, faced military and popular challenges and became increasingly in...

Multiple, complementary explanations have been developed to explain audit demand. Substantial evidence exists for these explanations in the private sector, but they have been explored to a lesser extent in the public sector. The authors assess the extent to which these explanations for the value of auditing are relevant in the public sector by exam...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse nonprofit regulation through comparing and contrasting mutual-benefit and public-benefit entities. It ascertains how these entities differ in size, publicness, tax benefits and whether these differences might suggest regulatory costs should be differentiated. Design/methodology/approach This mixed-me...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the 2004 AAAJ special issue (SI): “Accounting and theology, an introduction: Initiating a dialogue between immediacy and eternity,” the relative immediate impact of the call for papers and the relevance of the theme to address issues in accounting today and in the future. Design/methodology/approa...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the future development of heritage reporting in Australia. Public sector reporting of heritage has been a long-standing issue, due to shortcomings in (sector-neutral) for-profit-based financial reporting standards. Australia’s sector-neutral approach does not meet public sector users’ informati...

State regulation of charities is increasing. Nevertheless, although religious entities also pursue charitable objectives, jurisdictions often regulate them differently. In some states (including England until recently), the church (religious charities) are not called to account for their common-good contribution, despite owning significant assets a...

Prior research has devoted limited attention to studying changes in organisational risk management (RM) practices. This is despite continuous dissatisfaction from academics and practitioners with organisations’ ability to manage risks. We draw on Schatzki's social site ontology to study RM practices of two New Zealand local authorities that both ex...

The main aim of this paper is to introduce key themes of NGO accounting and accountability and provide an overview of the papers included in this special issue. These papers deal with formal reporting issues related to the regulatory requirements as well as various alternative forms of informal accountability mechanisms which are more related with...

Financial reporting is an important aspect of not-for-profit organisations’ (NPOs’) discharge of accountability, particularly for donations and funding. Nevertheless, NPO financial reporting lacks a global approach. Drawing on a multi-national study this paper utilises a pattern-matching methodology to capturing institutional logics. We uncover ten...

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have an important role in ensuring public sector accountability; their main activities being managing the audit of public sector entities’ financial statements and assessing probity/compliance, providing advice to parliamentary committees, and undertaking performance audits. Standards issued by the International Or...

Financial reporting is an important aspect of not-for-profit organisations’ (NPOs’) accountability. Globally, numerous and varying regimes exist by which jurisdictions regulate NPO financial reporting. This article explores whether NPOs should be required or expected to follow sector-specific international financial reporting standards. We investig...

Internationally, there are strong calls for charities’ formal annual reporting to include non-financial performance information. Without the international standards common in other sectors, national accounting standard-setters often regulate charities’ reporting. Lacking evidence on approaches to encouraging/mandating charity performance reporting,...

Financial reporting is an important aspect of not-for-profit organisations’ (NPOs’) discharge of accountability, particularly for donations and funding. Nevertheless, NPO financial reporting lacks a global approach. Drawing on a multi-national survey attracting more than 600 respondents, this paper utilises a pattern-matching methodology to capturi...

Purpose: Territorial local authorities (LAs) operate in a complex and dynamic environment which gives rise to multiple and conflicting stakeholder demands. Risk management (RM) provides a potentially effective mechanism to handle these conflicts. The purpose of the study is to examine and explain RM practices within two New Zealand LAs. Design/met...

This paper explores the value of financial statement auditing in the public sector. The study applies theory about auditing from the private sector as well as the public sector to explore ways in which public sector auditing can be expected to be valuable. It shows that there are a number of complementary explanations that can be applied to examine...

This paper provides empirical evidence which informs contemporary debates on developing international financial reporting standards for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs). Drawing on a global survey with respondents showing experience of NPO reporting in 179 countries, we explore: practice and beliefs about NPO financial reporting internationally;...

Civil society organisations (CSOs) comprise a diverse range of associations, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community groups, political parties and social networks. Nevertheless, despite heterogeneity, regulators, funders and donors often treat CSOs as homogeneous when demanding accountability. This paper highlights differences in...

Governments increasingly regulate charities to restrict the number of organizations claiming taxation exemptions, reduce charities’ ability to abuse state support, and detect and deter fraud. Public interest theory arguments suggest that regulation could increase philanthropy through enhancing public trust and confidence in charities. Nevertheless,...

This paper analyses financial reporting requirements applicable to charities in four jurisdictions—Australia; England; Ireland; New Zealand—using case study analysis which compares the actual financial statements of four charities operating in the same field and with similar levels of total income. The authors highlight common issues and implicatio...

Rapid change is affecting the demography, technology and availability of resources (both financial and volunteer) on which charities draw. This paper presents four different scenarios that could describe the charity sector one generation from now as it responds to a different world. We highlight the dangers if any one scenario becomes dominant. Whi...

The failure of boards and individual directors to engage with and accept accountability for work health and safety (WH&S) has frequently been commented on as a contributory cause of high injury and fatality rates. New Zealand has been no exception to this record, having poor fatal accident rates when compared with other OECD countries. One mining a...

Increasingly, public sector organisations are being encouraged or required to provide service performance information in addition to financial statements. Yet, reporting is often inferior, as shown by this example of local governments in New Zealand. Poor quality reporting has led to different initiatives to improve service performance reporting qu...

Many issues surrounding healthcare entities’ performance can be traced to their governance and ownership. Increasingly, public services are being provided by non-profit organizations and/or cooperatives, particularly in the healthcare sector. This is not unproblematic. We draw on the conceptual separation of ownership and control, and the notion of...

This article contrasts the emergence of two specific incorporated structures for non-profit organizations which came into being more than a century apart. We compare the ability for charities to form as “incorporated societies” under the New Zealand Incorporated Societies Act 1908 (effective from 1909), and to form as “charitable incorporated organ...

New Zealand was seen as world-leading when public sector financial reports were prepared using sector-neutral accounting standards from 1995 onwards. The decision in 2002 to adopt IFRS was disruptive, effecting new understandings of ‘sector-neutral’, and the standard-setter's approach was unsuccessful in meeting public sector users’ needs. The deve...

Purpose This commissioned paper reviews literature outlining reasons for a perceived gap between academics and standard setters as policy makers. The aim of this paper is to emphasise how academics and standard setters can collaborate on accounting and audit research and assist standard setters to act in the public interest. Design/methodology/app...

New Zealand was seen as world-leading when public sector financial reports were prepared using sector-neutral accounting standards from 1995 onwards. The decision in 2002 to adopt IFRS was disruptive, effecting new understandings of ‘sector-neutral’, and the standard-setter’s approach was unsuccessful in meeting public sector users’ needs. The deve...

This chapter reviews research on the topic of accountability and social accounting in associations, from small ones, primarily run by volunteers and focused on member benefits, to larger ones, with paid staff, which may focus on non-member benefits. However, the main content of this chapter will be relevant and useful mainly to larger associations,...

While, since 2006, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has held decision-usefulness to be the primary objective of financial reporting, constituents have consistently called for stewardship/accountability to be a second objective. Such strong lobbying has led the IASB to amend the objectives of financial reporting by increasing the...

This paper explores the value of financial statement auditing in the public sector. The study applies theory about auditing from the private sector as well as the public sector to explore ways in which public sector auditing can be expected to be valuable. It shows that there are a number of complementary explanations that can be applied to examine...

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have an important role in ensuring public sector accountability; their main activities being managing the audit of public sector entities’ financial statements and assessing probity/compliance, providing advice to parliamentary committees, and undertaking performance audits. Standards issued by the International Or...

Considerations of professionalization within sport are typically limited to the commercialization processes that generate the funding regimes and impact the expenditure patterns of professional sports teams. By contrast, using historical data, this article analyses how professionalism and the professionalization of elite rugby has impacted the amat...

Since around 2003, the number and extent of studies into accounting history and religion has increased significantly from their prior scarcity. This growing interest in the junction of accounting, religion and theology recognizes the social and economic importance of belief systems and religious institutions. Yet, publications are unevenly distribu...

New forms of giving are emerging and influencing how people and organisations give both money and time. This changing philanthropic and volunteering landscape presents challenges and opportunities for nonprofit organisations in developed countries such as New Zealand. This paper draws on secondary data and interviews with New Zealand’s national pea...

Hager and Brudney (2004, 2005) developed a Net Benefits Index (NBI) to measure the performance of volunteer programmes. Their benchmarking tool scores an organisation's performance against six specific benefits and eight recognised challenges that organisations face in recruiting and managing volunteers. This article extends the NBI by demonstratin...

This paper proposes a basis for progress in the development of the conceptual framework ( CF ) as a foundation for developing accounting standards. This topic has gained increased prominence following the IASB 's (2013) release of its Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting ( RCFFR ) proposing changes to the CF . In this paper th...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine changes in accountability as the provision and control of education moved from private nonprofit organisations to a public sector provider. Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of nineteenth century archival documents from significant primary educational providers in a major early New Zealand set...

The increasing number and influence of charities in the economy, allegations and evidence of fraud and mismanagement, and the need for information to inform policy, are all reasons for the establishment of charity regulators. Public interest and public choice provide underlying theories explaining charity regulation which aims to increase public tr...

Universities, like many other organisations, have an insatiable need for funding. It appears that student fees, government funding, alumni support and endowments are insufficient to fund the expectations that universities will undertake myriad research projects, knowledge dissemination and staff and student development. Rather than depending on mul...

Worldwide, civil society organizations (CSOs) are an integral component in the complex network that comprises the public sphere improving the welfare of our communities. In the second half of the twentieth century French CSOs’ contributions to their citizens’ welfare have become increasingly valued. Nevertheless, radical changes to employment polic...