There is also no statutory requirement in Hong Kong for charitable organisations to submit annual reports or accounts reporting their finances.

Getting an accurate picture can be tough even for motivated teams like iDonate. There is no central authority that registers and monitors charities, and non-profits are not required to disclose donation amounts or financial information to the public.

Donors who wish to check a non-government group's financial status and whether contributions are spent in line with its objectives will find that such reports aren't uniformly presented. Some charities such as women's empowerment group HER Fund, present a full audited financial report on their website. Others make just a few pages available. Some indicate through graphs and charts how donations are distributed - without revealing absolute figures. And there are those that do not disclose anything at all.

Depending on how they are established, charities are overseen by different government departments. Statutory bodies such as the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and orphan welfare group Po Leung Kuk must maintain audited accounts of all transactions and be open for inspection by their directors or any person appointed by the chief executive of Hong Kong.
Maintaining transparency entails a cost, but if you think it is something worth doing, you will do it
Linda To, executive director, HER fund

A charity set up as an incorporated company - Save the Children Hong Kong, for example - is required to file annual returns with the Companies Registry. The report covers basics such as its address, board of directors and, where appropriate, any mortgage it takes out.

But unincorporated groups do not have to account for their spending at all.