Transparency and Accountability (RS8) found a series of failings to meet SORP requirements among the reports of the 200 charities it reviewed, all of which had expenditures of at least £10 million a year. A third in the sample failed to explain their achievements in good details; a fifth gave only some or few details about the aims and mission; and, of those using volunteers, almost half failed to comment on their contribution as required, Thirteen of those reviewed also failed to get their accounts in by the ten month deadline. Chief Charity Commissioner John Stoker said the report showed "that the general standard of performance is not satisfactory among the largest charities".

"While there are some very good examples, too many charities in our study did not meet even the basic requirements. We hope that all charities will read the report and respond constructively. It's the large charities in particular who should be leading the way," he said.

The Commission also commissioned a survey of public attitudes to charity reporting, which is also published.

A telephone survey of 1,000 people asked respondents to rate the importance of charities providing information on particular issues. The most important issue for those surveys was which charitable activities the charity has spent money on (which 85% identified as "important" or "very important") followed by: What the charity has achieved (84%); the amount of money charity spends on raising money (74%) and the charity's administration costs.

To see the report visit the Charity Commission's website www.charitycommission.gov.uk