Australian Transparency Awards
28 May 2009 at 2:19 pm
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) together with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) have announced Oxfam Australia and World Vision Australia as winner and runner up respectively of the second annual Australian PwC Transparency Awards.
The Awards recognise and encourage the improvement of quality and transparency of reporting within the Not for Profit sector. Organisations eligible for the Awards generated in excess of $10 million during the last financial year.
Rick Millen, PwC Corporate Responsibility Partner says transparency is important for organisations at any time, particularly those reliant upon government funding and community philanthropy.
Forty four NFP organisations entered this year’s awards, drawing from a broad cross-section of institutions. Organisations’ disclosure was assessed according to a framework of criteria including strategy, financial and operational performance, governance, risk policies and sources of funding.
Graham Meyer, CEO of the ICA says the quality of NFP reporting in Australia is highly variable due to a lack of a universal regulatory regime. This is a key issue highlighted by a recent Senate Inquiry into the NFP sector
Meyer says until an appropriate regime is introduced it is important that NFP entities follow best practice reporting to counteract a perceived lack of comparability and minimum reporting requirements.
Kevin Clarke for the Centre for Social Impact says donors want to be well-informed about how their money is being used before committing to a NFP.
As a result, he says NFPs are prioritising reputation and branding along side transparency and accountability. The depth and calibre of this year’s entrants demonstrates the value NFPs place on transparent reporting, to communicate and enhance trust with their stakeholders.
The judges said Oxfam’s comprehensive reporting and robust disclosure policies combined with clear and engaging presentation made them a worthy recipient of this year’s PwC Transparency Awards."
They say using a combination of quantitative and qualitative information, Oxfam’s reporting provided a clear and detailed picture of its many programs, processes, staff and volunteer activities."
Commenting on the runner-up the judges said World Vision is a very large Australian NFP organisation with a broad and complex footprint. They overcame the challenges of this complexity to demonstrate many of the qualities that exemplify a well-governed and more transparent organisation in an accessible and user-friendly way.
The Awards were presented to the winner and runner-up by Senator Ursula Stephens, Parliamentary Secretary for the Voluntary Sector and Social Inclusion.
Sen Stephens said the awards play a significant and valuable role in not only recognising excellence in the sector but also promoting best practice reporting by the role model of the winner and the learnings that are achieved through the intensive judging process.
