The head of an online database that monitors the non-profit sector has expressed concern over the increasing number of non-profit bodies filing abridged accounts.
Benefacts launched its second annual Non-profit Sector Analysis report today, showing the sector is worth €12bn, employs 158,000 people and receives 8% of current Exchequer spending.
Under changes to the Companies Act in 2015, thousands of charities can avail of an exemption to file full financial reports, and more and more are choosing to file abridged accounts instead.
According to Benefacts, the percentage of charities filing these accounts increased from 4% in 2014 to 32% in 2016.
Patricia Quinn, the report author and MD of Benefacts, has urged caution at this practice.
She has said charities and other non-profits must choose greater transparency in order to win the public's trust.
The report also found that the non-profit sector does not boast a high percentage of high earners.
Of the 90,000 people working in independent non-profits, fewer than 1% are paid more than €70,000, compared to 13% in the wider economy.
