The end of the financial year approaches… how are your finances?

Many charities and voluntary groups don’t have the luxury of a finance team, being reliant on trustees, volunteers and staff who have a range of other responsibilities. It can be a complex area to tackle but there are processes that can be put in place and a wealth of information, advice and resources available out there if you know where to look.

Specific charity accounting experience isn’t as important as good financial knowledge, and the ability to communicate well and translate financial information into meaningful information for colleagues. The Charity Commission  offers advice on managing money, tax and accounts, with guides on reporting requirements and managing resources, along with examples of annual reports.

Try NCVO’s step-by-step finance support guides  – it’s available in text and video format – and there are some excellent ‘top tips’ to be found at the Directory of Social Change on the theme of helping everyone in an organisation to understand finance.