The Ingredients of Financial Transparency

Abstract

The demand for financial accountability by nonprofit organizations has dramatically increased. This includes church organizations that historically have not been very forthcoming or transparent with financial reports. This article examines the practices employed by the Archdiocese of Boston, which released a groundbreaking report in the spring of 2006. This was a multifaceted communications project that provided meaningful financial information to a broad group of stakeholders. In recent years, many of these stakeholders had been critical of the archdiocesan leadership for its lack of accountability. This report substantively answered the questions of all the stakeholder groups, winning high praise for its clarity and conciseness. The article highlights the key lessons learned in the process and how they might be applied to other church organizations.