Action plan

So your books are balanced.  In fact, you have supported the major balances in your balance sheet and have traced the activity in your statement of revenues and expenses.  The reports are ready to be published.  Now what?  What is the purpose of these historical reports? In my first article, I presented my opinion on…

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We are constantly looking for balance in our lives.  Balancing work and family is a popular concern, as is balancing our investments or even balancing our diets.  Can anyone ever claim to have successfully achieved balance in these areas of their lives?  Once we achieve it, can we maintain it? And then, how do we…

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I recently attended the BoardSource Leadership Forum called Governance by Design as an exhibitor.  The classes were created to provide information to CEOs and Board members. I attended with two objectives in mind: My objective as an exhibitor was to meet potential clients. My objective as the treasurer for a non-profit organization was to learn…

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When I accepted the job offer from Lumix coming out of college, I was a bit nervous to change industries—my internships were related to politics, media, and outreach. Simply put, none of the outlets I worked at were CPA firms. I quickly realized the skills I would learn here are transferable and that a successful…

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Only ten minutes into my call with the board’s treasurer and we had already brought up six different financial reports we could prepare and present at the next board meeting.  Each presented the organization’s achievements and shortfalls from a different perspective, and all presented information important for the board’s awareness and discussion.  But honestly, six…

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This is a question, and many times, a forceful statement I hear at least once a month.  My clients and members of nonprofit boards I belong to have a deep misconception that nonprofits are not allowed to accumulate savings (aka reserves).  Several years ago, I did an extensive search and asked various experts in the…

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Providing monthly financial statements to the president or executive director of a non-profit organization is essential to help them guide their organization to meet their strategic objectives, but the financial statements should be geared towards board members, too.  Unfortunately, many executives and board members may not understand what they are looking at.  To help these…

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