We live in an era of both transparency and of difficult problems to solve. I deeply believe that the more people who know about the problems our nonprofits face and the ways that we are trying to solve them, the better. To do that, you have to be willing to share plans, strategies, minutes of meetings and…..budgets and financial reports.

I know that this sounds like heresy to some readers. I was brought up in an era where, when we took a math test, we were told by the teachers to “Cover your work!” You may have been as well, and that experience seems to have scarred our generation’s outlook on management. We already share our financials with our boards—why not with our staff and non-governing volunteers?

Hear me clearly: Do not do this without first training staff and volunteers on how to read income and expense reports and balance sheets. But once you do, start discussing long and short term goals, their financial impact and their mission outcome. Start sharing financial benchmarks, then more people will have a better understanding of your organization–and that’s a good thing. If you don’t believe me, read the wonderful book Open Book Management, The Coming Business Revolution by John Case. This book and Case’s two follow up books are still best sellers for a reason: Opening up your financials works.

Will everyone care about your financials, plans, or strategies? No. But those that do are likely to be your most valuable employees and future stars. Think about it: You can do leadership development and identification just by sharing more of the information you already have. Pretty cool.

There are two rules about knowledge (information) and both are true.

“Knowledge is power. If I keep all the knowledge I keep all the power.”
“Knowledge is power. If I share all the knowledge, we all get powerful together.”

You choose.

I recently had a scare at a large national presentation when I discovered that a number of board members in the audience didn’t understand the how and why of an Audit Committee. There were comments such as: “Oh, our auditor just presents the audit to our CEO and she gives it to us. That’s fine, right?” I suggested that they Google “Family Connections, Austin” and read a terrifying and cautionary tale.

So, to avoid getting your nonprofit’s name in the paper in a negative light, what should you do? First, your nonprofit needs an Audit Committee. Second, that committee should have two tasks: engaging your auditor and conducting the first review of the audit. The Audit Committee should be independent, and can include non-board members (former board Presidents and Treasurers are common on Audit Committees). It is usually small, with 3-5 members.

The first job of the Audit Committee is to engage the audit firm—this work should be bid out at regular intervals. Most organizations do this every three years. Even if your nonprofit stays with the same firm, it’s recommended that you change the partner in the firm who oversees your account.

When the annual audit, along with a management letter is ready, the auditor meets with the Audit Committee first without clearing the report with the ED/CEO. Your ED/CEO can attend this meeting, but just shouldn’t see the information in advance. Then, the Audit Committee reports to the full Board of Directors.

This is now best practice in nonprofit governance and required by many funders. If your organization is not up to speed in this area, now is the time to get it there!

Please join me in welcoming Tricia Jo Score to Serenic as a key addition to our growing International Sales Team as Sales Engineer for EMEA.

Tricia brings a wealth of pre-sales knowledge and expertise in and around the public sector domain.  Tricia attended George Mason University (BA, ’01) and received her MBA from Marymount University (’07).  She is originally from North Dakota, has lived on the both the east and west coasts and will settle in her new home in Brussels, Belgium.

We’re looking forward to Tricia’s invaluable contributions to the team in helping Serenic grow its footprint globally.

Bestselling Author and Motivational Speaker to Keynote Explorations 2010

We welcome to Explorations 2010 Josh Sundquist, a bestselling author, motivational speaker, and Paralympic ski racer. Josh has spoken across the country to groups ranging from Fortune 500 companies to inner city public schools—to the White House!

Josh’s journey began at age nine, when he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and given a fifty percent chance to live. He spent a year on chemotherapy treatments and his left leg was amputated. Doctors declared Josh cured of the disease at age thirteen and he took up ski racing three years later. He trained for the next six years and in 2006 he was named to the US Paralympic Ski Team for the 2006 Paralympics in Turino, Italy.

Not only is Josh an amazing athlete, but he is also dedicated to helping others.  He served a two-year tenure as the National Spokesperson for the Combined Federal Campaign, an effort that raises over $300 million dollars a year for charities. On top of that, he has been featured on the back of Doritos bags nationwide for being the founder of LessThanFour.org, the world’s largest social networking website for amputees.

Josh received a degree in business from the College of William and Mary and a Master’s in Communications from the University of Southern California. He has been featured on CNN, USA TODAY, and NPR, and his memoir, Just Don’t Fall, was a National Bestseller.  Josh currently lives in Washington, DC.

Serenic is very thankful and honored to have Josh Sundquist be the keynote speaker for Explorations 2010.  For such a large event that caters towards helping nonprofits succeed with their accounting methods and software, we couldn’t think of a better person.  Find out more information about Josh, and Explorations 2010 through the links below!

Serenic Software – Explorations 2010

Josh Sundquist’s Website

Josh Sundquist on Facebook

Josh Sundquist on Twitter

Assets, as everyone knows, come in a variety of forms. Just look at your balance sheet. There are fixed assets, like buildings, liquid assets, like cash or investments, money owed to your nonprofit (receivables) and even intangibles like “goodwill,” which is your accountant’s way of valuing your reputation and the value of your brand.

All of these assets are important and the job of a good nonprofit steward (staff or board) is to balance protecting and using those assets for the optimal benefit of your organization. But there is one asset that is more valuable than all the assets listed above, and that is your nonprofit’s mission.

Your mission is more valuable than your buildings, your cash, your board, your staff, your volunteers and your donors. How can I say that? Because the mission is why your donors donate, it’s why your volunteers show up and why your staff keeps working (hint: They aren’t there for the high pay and benefits!).

Your mission is your organization’s sole reason for existing. It’s why the Internal Revenue Service granted your nonprofit’s tax exempt status, the reason people visit your website, why they become enamored of your activities and are so interested in your outcomes.

Every decision that your staff and board make should revolve first and foremost around your mission. Here’s the metric: Each and every decision should result in one or more of the following:

• More Mission
• Better Mission
• More Efficient Mission
• More Effective Mission

Your decisions don’t have to result in these outcomes during the next week, month or even fiscal year, but you should be able to rationalize any and all decisions based on the intent to achieve one or more of the four results listed above. Remember the first rule of nonprofits: Mission, mission and more mission!

by Randy Copeland, Senior Consultant

I have worked with Navigator for seven years—five years for a VAR and the last two for Serenic Software. I had always heard great things about Explorations – our user conference:  the wonderful people you meet, the informative sessions and learning where Navigator is headed.

With my first Explorations in May 2009, I was eager to see if it could be as good as I had heard.  I was not only attending Explorations, but I was jumping in the deep end as a presenter.  Being a Serenic consultant, I have trained small and large groups my entire career.  I felt nervous trying to live up to the presentations I had heard about from previous Explorations attendees (for those who know me, not a common occurrence).  I had two sessions to present:

1. General Ledger – Views, Account Schedules and Analysis & Report Requests
2. Workflow & Approvals

All the sessions were aimed at training instead of demos of new features.  The training emphasis of the sessions and the One-on-One Sessions were what set Explorations 2009 apart from other software conferences I have attended. Based on my reviews, and the overall conference reviews, we accomplished our goal of increased knowledge.

I had a wonderful time at Explorations 2009!  Networking with Serenic users, partners and staff was extremely valuable.  It was important to be able to meet clients face to face after talking with them via GoToMeeting and other electronic tools.  I was able to spend time with our nonprofit clients, inquiring about their Navigator installation, and discussing their daily accounting challenges.  I also attended sessions where I learned new accounting software tips within Navigator.

Explorations 2009 was different from any other software conference I have attended, and Explorations 2010 looks to be even better.

The feedback from Explorations 2009 was taken to heart and I am glad we will have more Software Consultants available to troubleshoot with users in the One-on-One Sessions.  New sessions have been introduced and training will be enhanced with a consistent approach (I would reveal more but then what would be the fun in that?).  This year, I am going to teach Procurement.  In just two hours, I’ll be covering the process from requisition to purchase order to invoice.  Will be a crash course !

We at Serenic are all working to make Explorations 2010 a conference that you can say was, “the best software conference you have ever attended!” If you have not signed up it is not too late–register here. This is your chance to learn more about Navigator, where Serenic is heading, network with other users in your industry and get help with your daily challenges.  I look forward to meeting you at Explorations 2010.

Most nonprofit board members get far too much material prior to their regular meetings, and certainly the financials are prime offenders. Face it: Most of your board members don’t take the time to slog through a five, ten or even twenty (yes, I’ve seen these) page financial report. While your board treasurer and members of your finance committee should go through the financials with a fine tooth comb, is that really necessary for other members? What most board members really need to see is a summary of income and expense against budget, a cash flow projection for the coming six months (also in summary) and a set of balance sheet generated ratios, again compared to goals and past performance.

Remember, any board member should be able to see any number they want, and right away. This kind of differentiation of reporting is intended to allow board members to perform their fiduciary responsibilities efficiently without being buried in numbers.

What about your staff? Does each member of your management team need to see the detailed financials for the entire organization? I don’t think they do. What each manager really needs is a report of her or his area of responsibility in detail and then summary information about the organization as a whole. And, of course, a cash flow projection; everyone needs to see that far too infrequent report.

My philosophy about financial reports is that they should be constructed to fit the varying needs of their intended audience. In reporting your numbers, one size definitely does not fit all. Ask board and staff members what kind of displays they really want. Show them some options and stay flexible. Some people love numbers as numbers. Others get more out of numbers as pictures (graphs and charts). Take a look at the options provided in your Serenic Software and begin a conversation with the end users of your financial reports about ways to accommodate their needs. They’ll be happier, the oversight will be cleaner and you’ll save a few trees to boot.

In the prior post, I discussed the strategic things do in a crisis. Now, let’s turn to some tactical tasks that can really help your organization.

• Once you have the best-case, worst-case and middle-case scenarios prepared by your crisis team, go to the board and choose a path.
• Run weekly cash flow projections that show receipts and disbursements out six months. Remember CASH=OXYGEN. Thus, your case projection is your most important financial report in a crisis.
• Inform creditors and vendors that you may well be late with payments, but that you have a plan. All vendors would rather get a small regular payment than none at all, and they definitely want to know you have a plan.
• Review all your contractual obligations. Is your office or vehicle lease amendable? Your other contracts? Does cutting one program affect the funding for another? Find out what you can and what you can’t cut.
• Be available to staff and volunteers to talk. This means being visible in your organization. Don’t hide behind your open door policy. As a leader, you are iconic, and never more so than in a time of crisis.

Finally, remember to take care of you, the leader. It’s natural to think you have to work hardest, longest, and take on all the decision-making. That’s a fast track to the ER, and in the interim, you don’t make very good decisions. Get your sleep, your exercise, eat right and do something that relieves stress. You’re the leader—the people that work and volunteer for you, to say nothing of the people your nonprofit serves, depend on you.

Crises come in all shapes and sizes. For most nonprofits, they have their root in money—and not enough of it. A contract gets cut, a grant reduced and things get far too interesting far too easily. Use the ideas here and you’ll at least have a strategy to get your nonprofit back on track. Remember, mission first.

My name is Celeste Bacon, I am the Training Coordinator for Serenic Software. I have been involved with Serenic‘s training program, now called SerenicEd, since I started with the company a little over eight years ago. When I began working at Serenic, Financial Management Implementation and Navigator Sales were the only two training classes offered, and, they were only available to partners once a quarter in Lakewood, CO. Now, I am very pleased to say, that we have several fund accounting classes scheduled each month, we are beginning to create more offerings for both partners and nonprofit clients, and we are conducting international classes in London!

The change that I am most excited about, however, is the addition of self-study training products. We just released our first self-study accounting class, titled Year End Processing. This hour-long tutorial covers the steps of closing the accounting periods and running the close income statement process. You can choose to run this training session at your convenience and if you need to leave the lesson at any time, you can pause it and pick up right where you left off. The Year End Processing self-study includes screen shots of the software to help you maintain context, and also includes embedded tutorials, which are little movies that illustrate specific processes. At the end of the training, there is a questionnaire to confirm whether you gleaned everything possible from the lesson, or if there are sections you may want to review again. I have to say, the response to this class has been great and we are all working hard to create more topic-specific products. In fact, the next self-study product which will cover Workflow, is already underway!

That is all for now…Be on the lookout for future announcements about new trainings, and feel free to contact me anytime at cbacon@serenic.com for more information or to register for a class!

When your nonprofit hits the wall (or, more recently, the wall falls down on your head), what’s the best leadership strategy? In this and my next post, we’ll take a look at a sequence of actions that can act as a checklist when (not if) a crisis presents itself to you. Before we go through my list, though, always remember the point of your nonprofit is to do good mission. That’s just as true in a crisis as in other times. Mission first, last and always.

When you confront a major crisis, start strategic and then move tactical. This is harder than it sounds. As leaders, we tend to want to fix something NOW when a problem pops up. When the problem is huge, we fix more small stuff faster, but often don’t stop and think through the larger mission issues before we start acting. Start Strategic.

Form a team of staff, board and outsiders to ask the following questions:

• How bad is the problem—really? (Rumor mills need to be checked out)
• Are programs or, worst case, the organization at risk?
• What guidance does our vision, mission, values, strategic and marketing plans give us as we decide how to proceed?
• Should we consider a new business model and/or merger?

Now, talk to peer organizations in the same position as you. Make sure you don’t reinvent the wheel. Then, once the data is in, create a best-case, worst-case, and middle-case for action.

Communication is key, but also a trap. Make sure you tell people (staff, volunteers, funders, the people you serve) what you know. What you know, not what you hope. What you know, not what you think may possibly perhaps sorta happen. The rumor mill can be deadly even if well intentioned. For example, if someone in a staff meeting asks, “Will we need to cut staff?” and you don’t know yet, but in trying to make them feel better say, “I sure hope not.”–what they hear is: “STAFF IS BEING LAID OFF!!!” What. You. Know.

In my next post, we’ll talk about a list of tactical things you can do.