The Effects of Financial Reporting Transparency and High-Quality Audit on Donations to Non-Profit Organizations : Evidence from Korean Charitable Organizations

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the effects of disclosure and high-quality audit on donations to charitable organizations in Korea. We find that the mandatory disclosure of financial information and high-quality audit is significantly and positively related to donations to charitable organizations. We also find that charitable organizations audited by Big 4 audit firms have greater likelihood to receive more donations, compared to those audited by non-Big 4 audit firms. Furthermore, we find that those positive associations are more pronounced for smaller charitable organizations. Collectively, those results imply that, as in the profit-making sector, disclosure and high-quality audit play a critical role in enhancing accountability and transparency of financial reporting and revenue for charitable organizations.