I am weeping in frustration at a new reporting requirement

Today I am mostly curled up in a corner weeping quietly in frustration at the fact that there is now a requirement in the new Sorp that all charities report on impact.

It says charities will need to move beyond simply reporting input and output measures.

In fact the ‘Summary of Changes’ document notes that the module for the trustees’ annual report states “impact reporting is now a ‘must’ for all charities” (underlined in case there was any doubt!).

Impact is a word that’s bandied about as freely as cakes at a bake sale, and often demanded by people who have never actually had to demonstrate it themselves!

And I’m not at all convinced that people demanding it really understand it – and it sure as hell is a big problem for many, many charities in our sector.

First, it’s costly and we rarely are given the funds to do it; and second, for many impact simply isn’t easily defined or measured, certainly not in the short to medium term.

The truth is we largely know the work we do helps.

We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t believe it would shift something. And we are always measuring stuff.

But the banquet of genuine, quantifiable “impact” often arrives only years down the line.

Think of Sure Start. It took about 20 years for the real impact of that amazing work to become visible, as evidenced by the recent report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

One of the things we do at our charity is publish books. We have absolutely no way of measuring their impact.

We can tell you how many people have bought them and how often they need to be reprinted; in other words, input and output.

But we have no way of knowing if they’ve even been read, let alone changed something!

And what about faith groups? For example, churches are now regulated by the Charity Commission. And thus have to apply the Sorp.

I can imagine the church officials nervously administering questionnaires after the service, alongside the collection box.

“On a scale of one to five, how much closer to God do you feel?” Or “Did your prayer work for your son to get a job?”

OK, I’m being sarcastic there – but you get the point.

Here’s another one. We have a problem with unoccupied young people, hanging about the streets, prey to gang culture or just general trouble-causing boredom.

Surely, it’s a BFBO (Blinding Flash of the Bleeding Obvious!) that simply creating a physical space for young people to hang out safely, and be teenagers, with a responsible adult around, is a Good Thing.

But how on earth do they demonstrate impact with a probably massively over-stretched budget?

I’m sure someone clever will come up with a way but you have to ask: is it always worth the time and money for something that is self-evidently useful?

Because here’s the thing – sometimes just being there is enough.

The quiet, steady presence of a youth group, a church, a community support charity – the intangible stuff that doesn’t show up overnight on a spreadsheet but matters deeply.

Don’t get me wrong. Metrics can be a good thing.

They can usually tell us something useful – but not necessarily how impactful we are.

There’s no question that most well-run charities are committed to measurable outcomes, but those cannot capture long-term change or the subtle nature of some of what we do.

Because as we scramble for indicators, metrics and outcomes, do we run the risk of overlooking the real intangible, unmeasurable magic?

We need to ask funders, regulators and ourselves – can we allow for patience? Can we acknowledge that some impact is slow, messy and unquantifiable?

Because impact isn’t just a line in the annual report – it’s the unseen ripple, the hug, the laughing teen, the communal prayer, the whispered message of hope.

This article was originally published on the Third Sector website. Take a look here.

SORP Training at DSC

Our new practical session is designed to equip finance professionals with the knowledge and skills required to produce reports and meet the new reporting requirements as set out in the new Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP). Participants will gain hands-on experience and insights into the latest SORP guidelines and their application in financial reporting. Taking place on Wednesday 3 December, register here today.