The accountability of the local social welfare-oriented voluntary organisations : an investigation

Abstract

Voluntary organizations in Malta collect considerable large amounts of money every year. Alas, no account is hardly ever given on how the collected funds are being spent, what results they have achieved during the year and whether they have achieved their expectations or not. Moreover, to add insult to injury, up to now in Malta no legal framework exists that regulates and obliges voluntary organizations to keep financial records. This dissertation, therefore, sets to evaluate the level of accountability attained by voluntary organizations, despite the lack of a regulatory framework and consequently, the degree of trust and confidence that these organizations have inspired to the public. The key research objectives of this study were achieved through a mail survey amongst the social welfare-oriented voluntary organizations and a survey among the general public. The mail survey yielded valid responses from 58 organizations. In addition, the public survey was carried out amongst 175 individuals from the general public. Although more or less voluntary organizations maintain accounting records, the extensiveness of their accounting systems differ in relation to their size. Besides, notwithstanding the preparation of financial statements and/or annual reports, unless requested by the donor, hardly are they ever distributed to the general public. The Maltese, in effect, are quite dissatisfied with this unavailability of information, asserting that they woulcl like organizations to disclose such information even if such disclosure would result in voluntary organizations having to spend more money on communications. The enactment of the Voluntary Organizations Act is certainly a step in the right direction in promoting voluntary organizations to become more transparent and accountable towards the public.