Assessing the vulnerability of not-for-profit organisations in Australia

[Truncated abstract] The focus of this thesis is to investigate both the likely symptoms and potential causes of vulnerability (financial distress) with respect to not-for-profit (NFP) organisations in Australia. Whether or not a NFP is vulnerable should be of concern to all stakeholders because a vulnerable NFP might (amongst other things) cease to be able to meet its service objectives. Based on a combination of: a literature review; a preliminary quantitative study of financial information contained in Australian NFP annual reports; a qualitative (focus group) study with Western Australian NFP CEOs and Chairs; and an Australia wide quantitative study (online survey) targeting NFP CEOs in the community services sector, this study provides a first step towards a greater understanding of the likely symptoms and potential causes of NFP vulnerability in Australia. Results from the preliminary quantitative study pertaining to financial information contained in Australian NFP annual reports suggest that previous models proposed by Altman (1968), Ohlson (1980), Tuckman and Chang (1991), Trussel (2002) and Keating et al. (2005) are not particularly useful in predicting NFP vulnerability in the Australian context. The only financial variable found to be significantly associated with vulnerability (in the predicted direction) was Revenue/Total Assets (as proposed in the Altman (1968) model).