management resources for community media

Basic Guide to Non-Profit Financial Management
Basic skills in financial management start in the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping, which should be done according to certain financial controls to ensure integrity in the bookkeeping process. New leaders and managers should soon go on to learn how to generate financial statements (from bookkeeping journals) and analyze those statements to really understand the financial condition of the business. Financial analysis shows the “reality” of the situation of a business — seen as such, financial management is one of the most important practices in management. This topic will help you understand basic practices in financial management, and build the basic systems and practices needed in a healthy business.

Mango: Accounting system
Accounting System

Mango’s simple financial system is suitable for small to medium sized NGO offices.

It is based on field experience of working with NGOs. We have tried to make it as practical as possible.

Mango’s simple system covers all of the key areas of field level financial management and can immediately be put into use in the field. We hope that it is simple to use and flexible.

However, you will probably need to adapt some parts of it to meet your specific needs. We always recommend that you seek professional accounting advice when setting up a new finance system.

Mango: Accounting packs
Guides

Download the following short, simple guides to NGO accounting:
- Book-keeping 45kb
- Book-keeping examples 76kb (Excel)
- Budgeting 40kb
- Budgeting example 50kb (Excel)
- Management overview 148kb
- Reporting to donors 81kb
- Sample financial job descriptions 104kb

Mango: Accounting resources
Please scroll down for details of all the resources Mango offers.

Mango provides tools and guides to NGO financial management.

They are field tested, practical and easy to understand. They also de-mystify financial management and help to build confidence as well as skills.

So, if you are new to this area, or if you are looking for training resources for other staff, then you have come to the right place!

Mango makes substantial high quality resources available for free. This includes our Health Check, our Accounting Packs and our Training Manual.

Mango: Health check
Mango’s Financial Management Health Check will help you gauge how healthy the financial management is in your NGO.

The Health Check involves answering a simple set of questions. They cover all the key areas of NGO financial management.

The Health Check can be run by any member of staff or trustee. You do not need specialist financial skills to complete it. It comes with a simple explanation of how to it works and a glossary of financial terms.

It has been particularly designed for small and medium sized organisations (or field offices).

By the end of the Health Check you will be able to tell if the financial management in your NGO is healthy or sick - and whether you need to call a doctor!

Basic Guide to Non-Profit Financial Management

New nonprofit leaders and managers have to develop at least basic skills in financial management. Expecting others in the organization to manage finances is clearly asking for trouble. Basic skills in financial management start in the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping, which should be done according to certain financial controls to ensure integrity in the bookkeeping process. New leaders and managers should soon go on to learn how to generate financial statements (from bookkeeping journals) and analyze those statements to really understand the financial condition of the business. Financial analysis shows the “reality” of the situation of a business — seen as such, financial management is one of the most important practices in management. This topic will help you understand basic practices in financial management, and build the basic systems and practices needed in a healthy business.