In Ukraine, 75% of charitable organizations refuse to submit financial statements
In most cases, they forget to report on the finances of organizations involved in education and social assistance.
More than 22,000 charitable organizations (BOs) have not submitted their financial statements for 2023 to the State Statistics Service, despite the requirements of the law. The largest number of such institutions is located in Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions. The finances of organizations involved in education and the provision of social assistance are often not reported. This is evidenced data Opendatabot.
Non-reporting statistics
According to data, 22,417 charitable organizations did not submit financial statements for the past year, which is 76% of the total number of registered charitable institutions in Ukraine. In 2023, 29,685 charitable organizations officially operated in the country. You can check the financial statements of funds and NGOs through the services of Opendatabotu.
Non-reporting trends
The trend of not submitting financial statements is not new and has been going on for several years. Before full-scale war, the situation was even worse: in 2021, 94% of charities did not report, and in 2022 – 82.4%.
Regional dynamics
The largest number of organizations that did not submit reports are located in regions that are temporarily occupied or are located in the front-line zone:
- Luhansk region — 98%
- Daughter – 89%
- Kherson Oblast — 87%
Other regions where the situation is also critical:
- Mykolayiv Oblast — 77%
- Zaporizhzhia region — 76%
- Odesa — 75%
This may be due to difficulties at work due to hostilities.
Types of non-reporting entities
Organizations that provide social assistance (87%), engage in education (6.8%) and public organizations (4.3%) avoid reporting most often.
A trend among public organizations
Among non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the tendency to not submit reports is even more pronounced. In 2023, 87.5% of NGOs did not submit reports, in 2022 – 90.8%, and in 2021 – 96.5%.
Expert’s comment
“Since the beginning of a full-scale war, the government has not penalized companies for late filing of financial statements, including charities and public organizations. Some organizations take this opportunity and do not report their finances. However, war does not eliminate the need to report. Open financial reporting is a tool that helps increase the trust of people who donate their funds and to show organizations that, despite their high workload, work transparently and openly for society. — comments Denys Popov, lawyer, arbitration manager, legal engineer of Opentatabotu.
Thus, the situation with the reporting of charitable organizations in Ukraine needs attention and improvement, since openness and transparency of financial activities are important for maintaining public trust.
