Knowledge, Skills and Strategies
for Professionals

Financial Management for Non-Finance Executives (3 days)

How to manage financial resources effectively and efficiently

Courses in Geneva in 2010

To be announced

Course fee and registration:

Early bird fee/full fee (in Swiss Francs, more information):
- Non-OECD: CHF 870/1020
- OECD: CHF 1170/1320

To register, please fill in this form and send it to us by email. For further enquiries, please contact us.

Overview

This course is aimed at equipping NGO leaders, managers, and board members with the knowledge and skills to effectively and efficiently manage the financial resources of an NGO towards sufficiency.

To reach this aim, participants learn the basics of financial management concerning accounting principles, how to best monitor revenue and expenses, how to analyze and interpret budgets, financial statements and reports, what are financial causes and effects that make an NGO successful or failing, how to define strategies and make decisions concerning resource generation and investments, and how to prepare financial planning and budgeting.

NGOs operate on limited resources - finances, staff and time - to conclude projects and programs successfully. To cope with the limited resources, the participants of this course acquire basic knowledge on financial management and learn to utilize a number of key decision-making tools. This course aims at enhancing the participants' knowledge and sharpening their skills so that they are able to take action confidently and at the right time in order to to manage resources efficiently in the present and sufficiently for the future.

Click here to download the course leaflet (PDF format).

This course is also available as in-house course for individual organisations. When conducted as an in-house course, we recommend to adapt the course content to the specific requirements of the organisation concerned for maximum results.

Who should attend

The course will benefit leaders and managers who are responsible for or participate in the formulation of the financial strategy and budget of their organization, and managers who are responsible for the implementation of strategies and annual plans. Participants should have basic experience in managing finances of an organization. This course is designed for:
  • Executive directors, regional directors, unit directors
  • Department heads
  • Senior project managers
  • Board members
  • Founders of NGOs
  • Consultants who provide services to NGOs
How you and your organisation will benefit - Learning Objectives

On this course, participants will be able to:
  • Gain insight into finance and funding challenges of development work and current trends
  • Know the basic principles of accounting
  • Become familiar with the financial link and interplay of balance sheet, statement of operations and statement of cash flow
  • Demonstrate the different approaches to financial analysis:
    • Cash Flow Analysis
    • Ratio Analysis
  • Analyse and interpret budgets, financial statements and reports
  • Acquire practical tools in assessing operations' performance in relation to resources used
  • Identify different financial causes and effects of a successful and a failing NGO
  • Gain insight in how to improve resource mobilization strategies
  • Acquire key tools to facilitate decision-making to achieve financial effectiveness and efficiency
  • Understand the terminology of finance and develop a better understanding of the functions of financial management
Course programme

Day 1Finance Overview
  • Aims of financial management
  • Finance and funding challenges and trends
  • Role of donor agencies
  • Role of government
Finance Walk: Numbers tell Stories
  • Accounting and finance: Generating the data and making strategic decisions
  • Ailment and treatment of a failing organization
  • Financial link: Relationship between financial statements
Day 2Financial Diagnostics
  • Programs and projects of NGOs
    • Systems and procedures
    • Allocations and restrictions
  • Self-help organizations and enterprises assisted by NGOs
    • Working capital cycle
    • Investment valuation
    • Financial measurements
Day 3 Resource Generation and Decision Making towards Self-Sustainability
  • Financial decision-making
  • Budgeting
  • Standards and trends

Individual consultation

As a participant, you can obtain an individual consultation from the trainer during the course on how to further develop a project of your own, or on another subject of your choice.

Course venue

If there are no management courses for NGOs in your country yet, please read about our partnership approach, the benefits for partner organisations and three simple steps to organize the training courses for NGOs in your community.

NGO Management School   Switzerland  Copyright 2009: Some rights reserved