Canada reportedly has the second largest volunteer sector in the world. Canadian not-for-profit organizations are diverse in their origins, structures and objectives. In 2004 Statistics Canada, with a number of partners including the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada), published a comprehensive study of not-for-profit organizations in Canada. The study refers to not-for-profit organizations as the cornerstones of Canadian communities and some statistics are useful in understanding the effect such organizations have on the Canadian economy. An overwhelming majority of not-for-profit organizations operate independently, while others, such as schools, hospitals, colleges and universities, are in some cases controlled by governments and included in their public accounts. The Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) is responsible for setting standards for publicly accountable and private profit-oriented enterprises as well as for not-for-profit organizations in the private sector. The AcSB is also developing a made-in-Canada alternative set of financial reporting standards for private profit-oriented enterprises.

Financial reporting