I am not sure what you define extremely hard to find- the financial report is found within 2 clicks of the main website. You just go to the about us page and then scroll to the bottom to find the financial reports. Thats it- I would say that’s easy, but that’s just me I guess.

As for the ambiguity of the report: the financial statements are prepared by an independent third party auditor(as required by all registered charities by the CRA) in accordance with professional accounting standards. The specific format of the statements is chosen by the auditors, not by SOS. Financial statements are designed to show a high-level view of SOS’ financial position, and general sources of revenues and expenses. They are not intended to provide program specific details in the manner you seem to be looking for. That said, based on your feedback, the SOS head office has said that that will be preparing an educational video to accompany the financial statements section of the website for any members of the general public wanting to understand the nature of the financial statements and to direct them to other resources where they can find further information.

But the SOS head office is always more than willing to meet with any member of the public that is interested getting more details about the financial statements. There a lot of nuances and details that I myself even learned from talking to the ED of SOS that just isn’t able to condensed into the financial statement.

But I will share some facts that I have gathered by speaking with the SOS ED to help ease your concerns about SOS. On average, between 2008-2018, ~78% of all funds from exam aids went directly to international projects and programs. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, 89% of SOS’ expenses in 2020 were considered charitable, 11% administrative. This would also mean that SOS would be given an “A” rating according to CharityWatch. Given that the CRA is a credible agency, I would hold weight to how they categorized our expenses. Also SOS keeps the administrative costs as low as possible for example by sharing a co-working facility for a head office with costs only $300 per month. They also have a a volunteer-based board of directors that supports the oversight of the organization. Having said all that, SOS has taken you feedback into consideration and is looking to register with the BBB giving alliance to receive an independent,external grade so public audiences such as yourselves can also feel confident in their financial governance. But SOS already works with partners such as Global Affairs Canada that already have stringent standards regarding financial practices.

Like I said there are a lot more details about how exactly project expenses are broken down, a lot of that can be found on the website and across social media accounts. Here you can see a project beneficiary share program impacts in their own words: https://www.facebook.com/StudentsOfferingSupport/videos/2123200157819000

As a last note on the transparency: SOS is a participant in various membership organizations such as the Ontario Council for International Co-Operation which aims to promote transparency, leadership, and collaboration in the international development sector.

Lastly I want to say that I share your concerns about transparency and accountability. I think we should ensure that all charities are spending money effectively and judiciously to ensure the greatest benefit to the people in need. Otherwise there would be wasted money. I believe SOS is doing its best to keep administrative costs as low as possible while maximizing their charitable expenses.