Charity financial reporting regulation: a comparative study of the UK and New Zealand

Charities are becoming more highly regulated worldwide and yet they are subject to diverse, country-specific, financial reporting standards. New Zealand is a jurisdiction that has treated all sectors alike in its approach to the financial regulation of charities, while the UK has, for some time, separated the regulation of charities from other entities. This article provides a comparison of the histories of the evolution of regulation for charity reporting in the UK and New Zealand. The current process of international harmonization in both jurisdictions is premised on the principle that accounting conceptual frameworks should not be jurisdiction-specific, but charities have proved to be an exception. We suggest in this study that this exception is attributed to different drivers resulting in regulatory distinctions in two otherwise similar jurisdictions. Without persisting in the maintenance of sector-neutrality, the inevitable divergence increases the load on preparers, attesters, and users and may lead to lower levels of accountability and transparency.