Log in
Building the Knowledge Base of Nonprofit Management:
A Searchable Database
Accounting for the value of volunteer contributions.
Abstract
There is a need for an accounting paradigm that properly illustrates
the value that nonprofits generate. Much of that value comes from
volunteer contributions, which are significant but for the most part
are not included in financial accounting statements, even though our
research indicates that they account for almost a third of the value
added by these organizations. This article reports the results of two
studies related to measuring volunteer value in the accounting of
nonprofits and then draws some policy implications from the research.
The first study, a survey of 156 nonprofits in Canada, found that
although about one-third of the sample kept records of volunteer
hours, only 3 percent included a value for them in their accounting
statements. The second study, of nonprofit accountants, found that
they did not feel that financial accounting statements properly
represented the contribution of their organizations. A series of
policy recommendations are presented, including suggestions for
revising the regulations of accounting bodies for imputing volunteer
value and creating accounting statements that better represent the
contribution of nonprofits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA,
all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
Journal
(2005)
vol15
no4
pages401-415
Categories
-
Volunteers
