ONLINE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE AS AN ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM: EVIDENCE FROM THE WORLD´S TOP 100 NGOS

The expansion of the Third Sector in terms of size, scope, and its role in society has brought on a greater need for accountability and legitimacy. The disclosure of reports on financial and operating performance is a powerful tool for NGOs, allowing for a dialogue with their stakeholders as well as a resource in and of itself, given the vital part it plays in the acquisition of financial support. Parallel to this, the evolution and ever-expanding use of information technology facilitates the disclosure and diffusion of information to stakeholders around the world. The objective of this study is to evaluate the level of financial disclosure carried out by the world´s top 100 NGOs as per the Global Journal´s 2013 Ranking, employing a checklist based on related literature and collecting data from the reports made available online that concern the 2013 year. Correspondence and Homogeneity analysis showed that the total of contributions is associated with higher online financial disclosure, which suggests that organization size is associated with the capacity to respond to stakeholder demands for financial disclosure. Finally, the checklist created in this study stands to assist NGOs faced with the need for increased disclosure levels but limited by financial and human resource considerations