The GT report says that as the sector comes under increased pressure from stakeholders, governance information shared in annual financial reports will need to be more detailed and transparent.

Jenny Brown, GT heading of housing, said: ‘For many housing providers, the details they give on governance processes in financial statements and annual reports doesn’t provide the insight that it could. It appears that these reports are seen as compliance exercises rather than opportunities for greater transparency.’

In the report, Steering the way to excellence in Governance, GT assessed information provided by the top 60 housing associations in England by income.

The majority (87%) use the National Housing Federation’s Excellence in Governance Code (NHF Code), but the research found a growing number (13%) have adopted the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) UK Corporate Governance Code 2012, usually associated with listed companies.

Around two thirds (68%) of housing providers have declared full compliance with their adopted code, compared to 57% of FTSE 350 companies.

While social housing boards are showing good levels of independence, with the majority (84%) of board members being non-executives, only 22% of providers give details of their board evaluation, which GT says makes it difficult to see whether they have complied with their governance code. In comparison, 63% of FTSE 350 companies share details about their evaluation processes.

Brown said: ‘Demonstrating evaluation is vital for showing that the board is delivering what it needs to in order to support the wider organisation.’