You didn’t start your nonprofit to become an accountant. Yet somewhere between managing programs, stewarding donors, and keeping staff motivated, the spreadsheets piled up — and suddenly, you’re the one
You are running a nonprofit. You are managing programs, satisfying funders, building relationships with donors, and trying to keep the lights on — all at the same time. And somewhere
You Have Funding on Paper—But Do You Have Cash in the Bank? Your nonprofit is growing. Programs are expanding, community needs are increasing, and your board is energized about the
Nonprofits often hire accounting staff from for-profit companies who are surprised by GAAP differences between the two sectors. Most often, these differences are in revenue recognition for the simple reason that
In a recent article we discussed the many benefits of budgeting. What then is forecasting and how is it different? Budgeting and forecasting may seem similar because both attempt to
You are running a non-profit and experience the unexpected departure of a long-tenured and valued accounting employee. How worried should you be? The complicated answer to this question depends upon
The last article discussed constraints in designing internal controls in smaller organizations. This section focuses on assessing the strength of internal controls. While there is no litmus test, there are
A well-designed internal control environment ensures that the key responsibilities of authorization, custody, record-keeping and account reconciliations are held by different individuals, a bedrock principle called Segregation of Duties. Involving
Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) frequently have sub-optimal staffing configurations. This may arise when employees are tapped to fill needs beyond their capabilities. An example is a bookkeeper who is asked in
An endowment is one of the most misunderstood assets of non-profit organizations. The press often quotes funders, clients, employee groups, and patrons that rationalize their non-assistance of struggling non-profits because
