Five Minutes for Finance

Welcome to “Five Minutes for Finance”. This series of articles will provide you with a better understanding of financial terms, concepts, and practices, focused on financial management in the nonprofit sector. My goals are to keep each topic short enough to fit within your busy schedule while also providing you with practical information that you can apply right away.

The article series is titled “Five Minutes for Finance” because it will cover much more than accounting. I will include topics such as budgeting, forecasting, communicating financial information, finance department staffing, and others that are not typically part of the accounting conversation.

For over 30 years, I’ve been a leader in nonprofit financial management as a CFO, consultant, conference speaker and educator. Although I hold an MBA, much of my knowledge has been gained while working with small, mid-size, and large nonprofit organizations spanning the fields of education, workforce development, housing, health, philanthropy, social services, media, fiscal sponsorship, nature, and the environment. Each of these organizations has faced both unique and common challenges, some of which I’m certain are similar to ones that you wrestle with.

I will be publishing these articles on a semi-monthly schedule, usually on the 1st and 16th of each month. Each article will be accompanied by links to additional resources if you wish to delve deeper. I welcome your comments and questions on each submission - these will help me improve the usefulness and readability of subsequent articles.