Charity service performance reporting and auditing: New report assesses SSP and the way forward
Charity service performance reporting and auditing: New report assesses SSP and the way forward
A newly-released study, resulting from a unique research collaboration between BDO and Massey University, offers a first-of-its-kind look into how New Zealand charities and auditors are adapting to mandatory service performance reporting and audit standards for Tier 1 and 2 charities.
The report entitled “Charity service performance reporting and auditing: Benefits, challenges and the way forward” is based on content analysis of Statements of Service Performance (SSP) and in-depth interviews. It charts the benefits, challenges and next steps for credible, decision useful service performance reporting.
The introduction of SSPs marked a global milestone, enabling stakeholders to understand a charity’s impact beyond financial metrics. Despite initial challenges, the sector has shown resilience and adaptability, with most charities successfully submitting SSPs and receiving unmodified audit opinions.
Benefits
Encouragingly, the process seems to have led to the development of stronger internal systems and improved data quality, enhancing the credibility of reported outcomes. Reporting SSPs acted as a catalyst for charities to reflect on meaningful and verifiable performance measures that can be tracked over time.
Challenges
However, tensions have emerged between the charities’ view of evidence to support qualitative storytelling and quantitative data compared to the requirements expected by auditors when assessing auditable evidence. This has led some charities to simplify or remove key measures to other areas of their annual report, prioritising verifiability over depth and potentially reducing the SSP’s purpose.
The way forward
As both charities and auditors continue to navigate this evolving landscape, collaboration remains essential. Developing meaningful narratives that balance impact and evidence will be key to unlocking the full potential of SSP.
This SSP research report, combining BDO’s sector expertise with Massey’s academic rigour, reflects a charity sector currently in transition. However, with some further work, time and support, an SSP could become a powerful tool that enables charities to further tell their story and the impact they have made for the year.
Who should read this?
Chief executives and Boards, CFOs and evaluation leads, funders and philanthropies, audit professionals, standard setters and policymakers seeking a balanced, evidence-based view on how service performance reporting and assurance can evolve for impact.
About the authors
This report is co-authored by Dr. Gina Xu, BDO New Zealand and Dr. Cherrie Yang, Massey University.
- Dr. Gina Xu is an accounting researcher and educator. She currently leads national audit learning at BDO New Zealand. Her research work explores professional skepticism, audit education, ethics, and the assurance of non‑financial information, with a particular focus on service performance reporting in charities. She holds a PhD in Accounting and has published in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, International Journal of Auditing, Current Issues in Auditing, and the Journal of Business Ethics.
- Dr. Cherrie Yang is a Senior Lecturer in Accountancy at Massey University. Driven by her previous work experience as a charity accountant, Cherrie has strong research interests in a wide variety of issues in the nonprofit sector, including financial and non-financial service performance measurement, reporting, and assurance. Cherrie has served as a judge for the annual For-purpose Reporting Awards, recognising excellence in nonprofit reporting, since 2020. She also coordinates the Community Accounting Program, a partnership between Massey University and Auckland North Community and Development, to build financial capacity in non-profits while providing students with practical community-based work experience. Her research has been published in international leading academic journals, including Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory and The British Accounting Review.