The challenges of regulatory data: a case study of British charity reserves reporting
The challenges of regulatory data: a case study of British charity reserves reporting
Charity reserve levels are widely used as a measure of financial vulnerability, of both individual charitable organisations and the wider sector. This paper assesses the mandated reporting of reserves by a large sample of British charities. We find that many charities are reporting figures that do not match the definition of reserves given by regulatory bodies. We therefore recommend caution when using extant reserves data, and that increased attention should be paid to the preparation of such data.
136-155
Abnett, Helen
11e70f25-55b7-4292-8a23-851e0e510365
Bowles, James
1c1bbaab-954e-43c3-999f-0b428c005ed0
Clifford, David
9686f96b-3d0c-48d2-a694-00c87b536fde
1 March 2025
Abnett, Helen
11e70f25-55b7-4292-8a23-851e0e510365
Bowles, James
1c1bbaab-954e-43c3-999f-0b428c005ed0
Clifford, David
9686f96b-3d0c-48d2-a694-00c87b536fde
Abnett, Helen, Bowles, James and Clifford, David
(2025)
The challenges of regulatory data: a case study of British charity reserves reporting.
Voluntary Sector Review, 16 (1), .
(doi:10.1332/204080521X16606700738158).
Abstract
Charity reserve levels are widely used as a measure of financial vulnerability, of both individual charitable organisations and the wider sector. This paper assesses the mandated reporting of reserves by a large sample of British charities. We find that many charities are reporting figures that do not match the definition of reserves given by regulatory bodies. We therefore recommend caution when using extant reserves data, and that increased attention should be paid to the preparation of such data.
Text
Manuscript The challenges of regulatory data - revised
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
2040-8064-article-10.1332-204080521X16606700738158 (1)
- Version of Record
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Accepted/In Press date: 16 August 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 November 2022
Published date: 1 March 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 470735
URI: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470735
ISSN: 2040-8056
PURE UUID: 1c9f92a6-81da-4380-b8f8-14e2b08d5e3b
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Date deposited: 19 Oct 2022 16:31
Last modified: 01 Oct 2026 01:59
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Author:
Helen Abnett
Author:
James Bowles
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