Playing the numbers game: program ratio management in nonprofit organizations

Nonprofit organizations are often evaluated using the program ratio: the proportion of mission-related program expenses to total expenses. Nonprofit managers have incentives to manipulate the reporting of financial information to enhance the program ratio. This article reviews the scholarly literature on program ratio management in nonprofit organizations. Prior research has identified several motivations for and methods of program ratio management and provided limited evidence that it occurs. Researchers have explored the consequences of program ratio management and provided a list of factors mitigating such behaviors. The emerging consensus is that the program ratio is of limited usefulness in evaluating nonprofit performance.