Beijing Times (京华时报), February 20, 2013
A recent scandal involving the financial management of the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children has led organizations to focus on their own accuracy and transparency. The CCAFC scandal has highlighted certain weaknesses in NGO financial management personnel. A recent investigation of public welfare organizations revealed that almost 50 percent had less than three personnel, and that financial management was often handled by part-time employees. Additionally, few accountants are trained in non-profit accounting systems, so even “qualified” employees may not possess the skills required for their work. The One Foundation has attempted to address some of these issues, uniting 128 NGOs to form the Union of Self-Disciplinary Organizations (USDO自律吧) in 2009, which has held information transparency trainings and recently issued an information transparency template. Shanghai organization Non-Profit Incubator refused to participate in these activities, pointing out that the financial materials of the majority of these organizations were produced by inexpert accounting methods.
