Course Summary:

Everyone involved in working with World Bank shares the responsibility of making sure that their limited resources are used to help people effectively. Good practice in financial management will help NGO staff to use World Bank funds to maximum effect, now and in the future.

• Good financial management is critically important for NGOs. You cannot achieve your goals without it.
• Financial management is everyone's responsibility – trustees and programme managers as well as finance staff.
• Good financial management depends on programme staff and finance staff working together and integrating good practice into their everyday work.
• Effective use of resources depends on field staff making informed decisions

Course Objectives:

• Build activity-based project budgets, cashflow forecasts and funding grids for effective programme planning and implementation
• Prepare project accounts and simple financial reports
• Analyse financial reports to inform and support programme management decisions
• Review grant contracts to ensure systems comply with donor rules
• Use Mango’s financial health check to identify strengths and weaknesses in financial systems
• Use the risk mapping technique to assess the financial risks facing their (or partner) NGOs 
• Build a financing strategy to promote continuity and security of financial resources for their (or partner) NGOs, including how to build reserves and manage central support costs 

Course Outline

NGO effectiveness and accountability

• What makes NGO work effective?
• The Two Golden Rules and downward accountability 
• Achieving good practice in financial management
• Financial governance vs. financial management
• Getting the basics right – key principles and building blocks of financial
• Using the Mango Health Check 
• Getting organised for successful outcomes
• Accounting codes framework 

Key skills: Financial Planning Essentials

• The financial planning process
• Budgets and budgeting
• What makes a good budget?
• Key skills: Practical budgeting
• Case Study: budgeting for a new project
• Activity-based budgeting, phased budgets and consolidating budgets
• Cashflow forecasting 

Key skills: Accounting Essentials

• The accounting process – making links
• Developing the chart of accounts
• The procurement process
• The challenge of core costs
• Accounting systems development
• Case study: scaling up operations 
• Delegated authority and the procurement process
• Accounting for core costs 

Key skills: Planning for grant management

• Grant management process – failing to plan is planning to fail...
• Mapping the Chart of Accounts
• Budgeting for donors: completing donor formats
• Using a grant schedule 

Key skills: Contract management

• Contract assessment and negotiation
• Identifying compliance challenges 

Key skills: Internal Control Essentials

• How to safeguard your assets – the role of internal control policies and procedures
• The impact of fraud 
• Anti-bribery 
• How NGOs can lead by example in preventing bribery.

Key skills: Financial Reporting

• Financial information – who needs what, when and why?
• Reading the audited financial statements
• Ratio analysis
• Using budget monitoring reports in programme management
• Variance analysis
• Alternative reporting formats
• Reporting to beneficiaries

Key skills: Grant Management

• Donor reporting and forecasting
• Common challenges during grant implementation
• Managing multiple donors
• Grant closure phase
• The role of audit

Strategic Financial Management: Assessment (Where are we now?)

• What is financial sustainability and how do we achieve it?
• Financial SWOT analysis
• Stakeholder analysis
• Assessing financial statements
• Assessing the financing mix
• Financial risk assessment

Strategic Financial Management: Decisions and Targets (Where are we going and how do we get there?)

• The funding environment – who gives and why?
• Deciding on the appropriate ‘funding mix’
• Building reserves in a not-for-profit organisation
• Financing Central Support costs
• Ethical policies