Organisation: Charity Finance Group
Agency: Cottier Sidaway
Spend: £4,392.52
The Charity Finance Group works with finance managers to ensure best practice in charity finance.
Format and audience
The annual report was created in A4 size for print and a PDF version was put on the organisation's website, containing hyperlinks to make it more interactive. The report is designed with CFG members and potential members in mind, along with subscribers and sector stakeholders.
The charity faces the challenge of reporting to an audience of finance directors who take a keen interest in what the figures - as much as words - say about its achievements and how the report interprets elements of the Statement of Recommended Practice on charity accounting.
Design and content
Traditionally, the charity has concentrated on financial accuracy, attention to detail and compliance with the Sorp in its reports, rather than on the design, format and narrative. Its 2010 report was in black and white but in the past two years it has added more colour and imagery. The CFG's corporate pink colour runs throughout, giving it uniformity. It has also shifted the focus of the report more to the story of its achievements. As a result, the design is very basic and text-heavy, but this is appropriate for the charity's audience. The accounts section is clearly marked and easy to read.
Cost and practicalities
The report was developed internally to keep costs down, and an external agency was used for help with the design and print.
CFG says:
"We want our report to tell the story of the CFG through more than just the numbers - although we recognise that, for many of its readers, that will be the most interesting part."
SCORE:
Design: 2
Readability: 3
Content: 4
Transparency: 4
13 OUT OF 20
