Financial Management of Nonprofits

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify the constraints to which a nonprofit is subjected.
• Specify the mission-related issues that nonprofit managers need to consider.
• Describe the different stakeholders who are interested in the operations of a nonprofit.
• Identify the types of financial decisions that are impacted by a nonprofit’s stated mission.
• Specify the types of revenue sources that a nonprofit is likely to use.
• Identify the various duties to which a nonprofit board is subjected.
• Recall the various financial oversight practices of a nonprofit board.
• Specify the activities of the committees of a nonprofit board.
• Describe how a conflict of interest policy protects a nonprofit.
• Specify the indicators of weak nonprofit governance.
• Specify the main purpose of fund accounting.
• Recall the types of donor restrictions of contributed assets.
• Recall the reasons for using board-designated funds.
• Specify the structure of an optimal nonprofit chart of accounts.
• Identify the types of controls that a nonprofit may use.
• Recall how functional expense reporting is used.
• Recall how the statement of activities is used.
• Specify the various types of nonprofit disclosures related to liquidity.
• Identify the benefits of having a nonprofit issue notes to its financial statements.
• Recall how a cash forecast can be used to provide the maximum value to a nonprofit.
• Specify how budget recasting should be used.
• Identify the planning mistakes associated with reimbursement-funded programs.
• Recall how the diversification of revenue sources can reduce concentration risk.
• Specify how sustainability risk can be reduced by a nonprofit.
• Identify the red flags associated with earned income.
• Recall the sustainability issues associated with special events for fundraising.
• Specify the practices that can improve long-term sustainability planning.
• Identify why the days cash on hand metric is so useful for a nonprofit.
• Recall how a nonprofit should use a line of credit.
• Specify the conditions that indicate mis-use of a line of credit, and how such mis-use can be minimized.
• Identify the operational tests for classifying a cost as direct or indirect.
• Recall why the aggressive reclassification of indirect costs can be harmful.
• Specify why cost allocation can be strategically important to a nonprofit.
• Identify how to best support unit cost measurement for a program.
• State how to best manage shared services decisions.
• Recall how a nonprofit can offset having too few people to use the segregation of duties.
• Specify the reasons for elevated fraud risks in a nonprofit.
• Identify the controls that a nonprofit can use to safeguard its assets.
• Recall a nonprofit board’s best role in risk oversight.
• Specify the value of using a COSO-aligned internal control framework.
• Identify the compliance risks associated with the IRS Form 990.
• Recall why grant compliance monitoring is so critical.
• Specify the circumstances under which a nonprofit must undergo a Single Audit.
• Identify how to best prepare for a regulatory review.
• Recall the uses to which the various monitoring metrics can be put by a nonprofit.
• Specify why trend analysis is so useful for nonprofits.
• Identify the conditions under which a nonprofit should conduct a benchmarking analysis.
• Recall the most common financial mistakes when expanding programs.
• Recall how to make capital planning more effective for a nonprofit.
• Specify why mergers can be financially risky for a nonprofit.
• Recall why scenario planning improves the long-term resilience of a nonprofit.