We're continuously refining and improving the financial information we provide about each charity in the charity directory. Here we are explaining the current information we are disseminating and why.
The Financial Data Disseminated by Charity Finder
Charity Finder extracts key figures from statutory audited financial statements and publishes those facts in the directory. Where a charity (or its website) has made a statement available, we may also link to that file. We do not republish copies of documents purchased from the government's ICRIS system. The metrics we disclose are described below.
Financial Year End Date
Refers to the end date of a one-year accounting period. For newly established organizations, or organizations that may have later changed their official financial year end date, this period may be longer or shorter than 12 months. Most charities have a financial year end date of either 31 March or 31 December.
Directors
Refers to a member of the board of people that oversees the affairs of a charity. The directors are sometimes interchangeably referred to as either of the following: "members of executive committee", "councillors", "governors".
Org. Structure
There are a total of 4 different organisational types of tax-exempt charities in Hong Kong. These are:
There are a plethora of potential income items that a charity may have. However, one item that is consistent in audited financial statements across the industry is the specified amount of donation received.
Income: Subvention Funding from the Social Welfare Department
This refers to (usually large-scale) specific funding received from the Social Welfare Department's Lump Sum Grant Subvention System (LSGSS), which has been implemented since 1 January 2001. In the charity directory, all subvented charitable organizations have been labelled with the subvention status.
Total Income
Total income, sometimes called as revenue, refers to gross income/profit and is located primarily in the Income Statement of a respective charity's financial statements. Due to the large number of different income items that may comprise the total income, we only report on the sub-items that are consistent across the industry, which is donation income and whether the charity is receiving subvention funding from the Social Welfare Department. If you wish to see the detailed breakdown of income for a respective charity, please refer to the audit document shared on the charity directory listing.
Total Expenditure
As the name implies, this refers to the total expenditure incurred by the charity during the period specified in its financial statements. Due to the vast difference that each organization would report its expenses, only total expenses is being reported on. If you wish to see a more detailed view of expenses, please refer to the audited financial statement shared in the charity directory listing.
Surplus/Deficit
This refers to "Total Income" minus "Total Expenditure".
Balance Carried Forward to Next Year
Also called "Net Assets". Refers to "Total Assets" minus "Total Liabilities".
Total Non-Current Assets
Non-current assets refer to a charity's long-term investments that are not easily converted to cash or are not expected to become cash within an accounting year.
Total Current Assets
Current assets refer to a charity's short-term investments that are easily converted to cash. Current assets include cash, bank account, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, etc.
Director Remuneration/Compensation/Emolument
This refers to whether a charity has paid any remuneration to its directors. This shall generally not occur (as it is not legal by law, unless proper exemption) and usually this should therefore be a value of "0 HKD".
Total Assets
Total Assets equals "Total Non-Current Assets" plus "Total Current Assets"
Total Non-Current Liabilities
Non-current liabilities include: debentures, long-term loans, bonds payable, deferred tax liabilities, long-term lease obligations, and pension benefit obligations. They are generally not that common on a charity's audit statements but may occur.
Total Current Liabilities
Current liabilities are a company's short-term financial obligations that are due within one year or within a normal operating cycle.
Net Current Assets
Net Current Assets equals "Total Current Assets" minus "Total Current Liabilities".
Total Liabilities
Total Liabilities equals "Total Current Liabilities" plus "Total Non-Current Liabilities".
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by "Total Liabilities" divided by "Total Assets".
Working Capital Ratio
The Working Capital Ratio equals "Net Current Assets" divided by "Total Expenditure". The ratio determines how long (in years) a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net current assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed audit. Dividing the net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. In the future we will aim to calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years as opposed to only the total expenses from its current year.
Amount due to related party?
While we may report more detailed metrics in the future, this will currently indicate a "Yes"/"No" as to whether the charity has any outstanding amount due to one of its directors or members. You may refer to the charity's financial statements for more details.
Please note that while we strive for 100% accuracy, human error may occur in our extraction of financial information. For official information, refer to the charity's statutory audited financial statements (from the organisation, its website, or the government's ICRIS system where applicable). If you spot any errors, please submit a "Suggest change" for the respective charity.
PS! We need your help!
Hong Kong tax-exempt charities are generally required to file audited financial statements. For companies, those filings are often available through the government's ICRIS system, typically at a per-file fee of around HK$21. We do not buy ICRIS files in bulk to host or redistribute. Donations help us research, extract, and publish directory metrics — and encourage charities to upload or link their own statements so the public record is more complete.
Should you have feedback on what financial information you think should be added to this list (be it additional information, ratios or other) please do not hesitate to contact us.
