It’s not often that I – or anyone, I suspect – gets terribly excited about charity finance. But today is an exception. CFDG, the body which represents charity finance-directors, has just published its annual report. It’s one of the best we’ve seen.

The report is clear, concise and informative. It’s easy to read, contains lots of facts and figures (plus a few graphs), and gives a great idea of how the charity ticks. All the more impressive, CFDG is also very small, with an annual expenditure of just over £1m a year.

CFDG’s report shows, again, that transparency doesn’t have to cost the earth. But it also shows how a good annual report can build trust and reassure donors. CFDG’s diligent listing of key performance-indicators gives swift reassurance that the charity is on the right track. And the accompanying commentary shows that the charity knows where it needs to improve.

But the CFDG report also illustrates the limits of transparency. Although we’ve given it a score of 82 per cent – a rare achievement – the report doesn’t talk about how successful CFDG has been in delivering its vision: to inspire public trust in charities by promoting sound financial management. If CFDG really wants to lead the field with its report – which, it says, it does – this is something it really ought to address.
 

 

Login or register to comment