Ballet and potters star in national charity reporting awards

Ballet and potters star in national charity reporting awards

Charities ranging from the Royal New Zealand Ballet to a small Hamilton pottery collective picked up prizes today [2 Nov] at the New Zealand Charity Reporting Awards.

The awards, organised by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), recognise the progress registered charities have made in transparency and accountability in their financial reporting.

Comprehensive Care, an Auckland-based provider of primary health and GP support services took out the award for large (tier 1) charities and Kiwi Community Assistance, which distributes food, clothing and household goods to families in need in Wellington, was the tier 3 winner.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet won the tier 2 award, while the Waikato Society of Potters, a pottery teaching centre, won the award for the smallest charities (tier 4).

Peter Vial, New Zealand Country Head for CA ANZ, said the awards recognise the progress New Zealand’s charities have made to improve transparency and accountability in their financial reporting.

He commended the standard of entries in the awards. “The judges were really impressed by the quality and depth of performance information provided by registered charities.

“It was fantastic to learn about the broad range of goods and services that have been delivered over the past year and to understand what these charities hope to achieve in the future.

“We got a real sense of the value that charities contribute to NZ society”.

New regulations which came into force last year, represented a significant shift in reporting standards for many organisations in the not-for-profit sector.

“We wanted to recognise best practice in the sector and give organisations the opportunity to demonstrate the value they are providing to funders, volunteers and the broader community,” Vial said.

Three years ago, the majority of New Zealand’s more than 27,000 charities did not need to comply with any accounting standards.

But the legislative changes, introduced in 2013 and mandatory from April 1 2015, mean all charities now have to follow specified accounting standards. A four-tier structure, reflected in the awards, means smaller charities have less onerous requirements than larger ones.

“It’s been a steep learning curve for many organisations, particularly smaller ones,” said Vial.

Chartered Accountants, many working in a voluntary capacity with not-for-profits, have played a big role helping charities adapt to their new responsibilities.

Last year a survey of CA ANZ members found almost nine out of 10 respondents (88%) provided voluntary services to a not-for-profit organisation, with nearly 70 percent of donated hours spent helping them with financial management and governance.

Full list of winners and highly commended
Tier 1 (Over $30m in annual expenses)
Winner: Comprehensive Care PHO (Auckland based)
Highly commended: The Electrical Training Company (Wellington based)
Tier 2 (Between $2m and $30m in annual expenses)
Winner: Royal New Zealand Ballet (Wellington based)
Highly commended: The Fred Hollows Foundation (NZ)
Tier 3 (Under $2m in annual expenses)
Winner: Kiwi Community Assistance Charitable Trust (Wellington based)
Highly commended: Toy Library Federation of NZ
Tier 4 (Under $125,000 in annual operating payments)
Winner: The Waikato Society of Potters (Hamilton based)
Highly commended: ADC Incorporated (ADC offers micro loans to skilled, enterprising communities in Myanmar and Malawi).
The winners each receive $1000 provided by the awards’ sponsors BDO, RSM, Grant Thornton and Ingham Mora.
For more information on the tiers visit the Charities Services website
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