Professional athletes measure their performance all the time. As Peter Drucker–the man who invented modern business management–famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Even though professional athletes are not considered to be in business, they do just that. They measure their performance during each game, during each season, and during their…
For many nonprofit leaders and their accounting and finance teams the annual audit can be a stressful and disruptive time, commanding considerable staff resources. This should be the exception, not the rule. There are year-round strategies to help make audit time a less stressful experience. Storing required audit documents throughout the year An auditor’s PBC…
An assessment can be a valuable tool in determining the current state of your organization’s accounting and finance function. Not having a good grasp of this information can lead to challenges down the road such as inaccurate data used in decision-making or even an unfavorable management letter from your external auditor. A comprehensive accounting and…
For nonprofits, deciding on a board committee structure can be a challenge. Often, the decision is solely based on the number of board members and their talents and expertise. Proper financial oversight, however, is important to the success of a nonprofit because it ensures that the organization is in compliance with applicable laws, is acting…
One of the fundamental decisions a nonprofit organization needs to make is whether to use the cash or accrual accounting method. The method you select will determine how you classify, record, and report on your income and expenses. What is the cash method of accounting? Under the cash method of accounting (cash-basis accounting), revenue is…
Rare is the nonprofit that looks forward to finance and accounting tasks, from bookkeeping to budget reviews and reporting. At a minimum, such tasks are a headache, and sometimes—as when an audit takes place—they become the bane of many executives’ existence. The difficulty of managing finances internally is one of many reasons nonprofits are increasingly…
