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Accounting Transparency of Non-Governmental Organizations: A Case Study of the Red Cross in China and Spain

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https://doi.org/10.5209/reve.69189
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2020
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Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales. Escuela de Estudios Cooperativos
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Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are becoming increasingly involved in international affairs, while facing a growing deficit of confidence due to an environment of information opacity. This situation not only affects NGO financing but also decreases general public confidence in NGOs, influencing their sustainability. Transparency in NGOs is thus important. This study conceptualizes accounting transparency and its evaluation methods through a comparative case study of the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and the Spanish Red Cross. The study assesses the organizations’ levels of transparency and the importance of regulations to the dissemination of information. The comparative analysis through the two NGOs’ websites demonstrates the importance of the regulations for ensuring transparency of these bodies (determining which type of information is voluntary and which is mandatory). Although the NGOs compared do not differ greatly in degree of transparency, they do not publish exactly the same information, especially in the financial area, the most essential area for inspiring donor confidence. This study thus offers an interesting and valuable contribution for both academics and professionals.
En la actualidad, las organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) están cada vez más involucradas en los asuntos internacionales, al tiempo que se enfrentan al creciente déficit de confianza debido a la opacidad del entorno de la información. Esto no sólo afecta el efecto del financiamiento de las ONGs, sino que también disminuye la confianza del público en este tipo de organismos e influye en su sostenibilidad. Por lo tanto, la transparencia en las ONG es importante. Este trabajo se enmarca en el ámbito de la transparencia contable, su concepto y sus métodos de valoración a través de un estudio comparativo entre la Cruz Roja China (RCSC) y la Cruz Roja Española tomado como ejemplo para evaluar sus niveles de transparencia; e investigando la importancia de la normativa en la difusión de la información. El análisis comparativo de estas ONGs en ambos países, a través de sus respectivas páginas web, muestra la importancia de la normativa sobre transparencia de estos organismos (determinando qué tipo de información es voluntaria y cuál es obligatoria), ya que si bien no existe una gran diferencia en el grado de transparencia, sí es cierto que no publican exactamente la misma información, sobre todo en el área financiera, que es precisamente la más necesaria para generar confianza en los donantes. Por lo tanto, este trabajo ofrece una interesante y valiosa contribución tanto para los académicos como para los profesionales.
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Organizaciones no gubernamentales (Sociología) , Contabilidad (Economía)
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5303 Contabilidad Económica
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