TS-FS-11
Trust & Stewardship
Financial Stewardship
CORE
Compliance
v2.9.7
Overhead (support/admin), fundraising and governance costs: separated, reasonable and transparent (SORP-aligned)
Assesses whether the charity defines and applies SORP-aligned cost categories (charitable activities, fundraising, support/admin and governance), allocates shared costs on a consistent basis, and keeps overhead at reasonable levels. Transparent methodology and context build donor trust and ensure efficient resource use. The criterion also assesses whether communications avoid simplistic “low overhead” claims and instead explain how appropriate investment in controls, safeguarding, and systems protects amānah and improves impact.
Compliance 1
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Separate tracking of admin costs in accounting systemProcess Essential
Basic 3
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Clear definition and categorization of administrative costsDocumentation Essential
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Justification for admin cost levelsDocumentation Important
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Transparency in external communicationsProcess Essential
Good 6
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Board-approved policy on admin cost managementGovernance Essential
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Regular reporting on admin cost ratiosMonitoring Essential
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Consistent cost allocation methodologyExcellence High
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Functional expense reportingTransparency High
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Transparency in fundraising materialsTransparency High
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Procurement and contract re-tenderingEfficiency High
Better 9
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Benchmarking against sector standardsPerformance Important
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Efficiency measures to control admin costsProcess Important
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Independent review of cost allocationsTransparency High
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Value-for-money analysis of admin functionsContinuous Improvement Medium
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Context provided for admin cost ratiosTransparency Medium
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Balanced approach avoiding under-investmentLeadership High
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Regular efficiency reviewsContinuous Improvement Medium
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Automation (cloud ledger, AP, workflows)Excellence High
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Three-year trend and segmentation of ratiosTransparency Medium
Best 1
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Activity-Based Costing and time-writingExcellence High
Discussion (1)
Administrator
2026-03-07 11:07:49.527985
📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json
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