Accounting, auditing and regulating charities ‐ towards a theoretical underpinning

We outline the history of a distinct accounting standard for charities. It charts the development of the first charity SORP and its subsequent failure. The paper explains the development of the current second charity SORP, and reviews three philosophical schools of accounting ‐ positivism, interpretive and critical. We critique how each perspective would define the SORP’s development. We conclude that all three philosophies provide a context which validates the purpose of the new charity accounting statement and subsequent regulation. The interpretative school, however, provides fusion between theory and current professional practice.