As schools imminently return to classrooms, and colleagues will turn off the summer holiday juggle out-of-office notifications, now is the perfect time to review, and reflect on your charity’s financial status.  How have you done this year? What do you need to achieve and/or fundraise before the end of December? Are you confident in your financial status and your board’s abilities? Here are five recommendations for understanding your progress better, and identifying the right training to achieve your financial goals, before it’s too late in the year to turn things around.

1 .Financial control audits

A financial control audit can assess the effectiveness and efficiency of a charity’s financial controls. We could review your policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of your financial records and reports. Undertaking this will help to prevent errors and fraud, and promote your efficient use of resources. We can carry out a financial control audit for you as we do for our clients, and at the end you will receive a report that mirrors the Charity Commission guidance which will include recommendations on internal controls, ensuring your board has a list of targets for improving things moving forward. In a nutshell, it will provide you with assurance about the accuracy of your financial reporting, mitigate risks, and promote sound financial management practices. 

2. Governance reviews

Following a number of high profile collapses and scandals over the past few years, are you confident in the abilities and processes of your trustee board? Many trustee boards are now realising that they need as much support as possible, and cannot take assumed skills for granted. Whether as a result of an unfortunate incident, or just as part of a health check, we can support charities in reviewing your governance structure and making recommendations on how to improve as a board. Its purpose is to ensure that your governance framework is fit for purpose, it positively promotes your goals, and absolutely adheres to relevant regulations. We can also identify skill gaps, training requirements, and develop a bespoke action plan to ensure these are recorded, actioned, and reviewed regularly.  A review of this kind should be done at least every three years in our opinion. 

3. Charity finance training 

This can be offered for a range of abilities and experiences of individuals, but we find the most beneficial is conducting this training for those newest to the roles. Your first trustee position can be a daunting prospect and so reassuring them with some training looking at several topics including basic financial controls, understanding charity accounts, and what to look for in management accounts will be warmly welcomed. From experience, these training sessions have enhanced the confidence levels in new trustees, and we’ve then conducted refresher training sessions with them years later, or even when they’ve moved to a new trustee role to ensure they are still confident in their abilities and knowledge for the new charity. 

4. Financial due diligence for grant funders

Do you have a team or individuals responsible for your grant applicants? We can run training with them which looks at how to do an efficient and accurate financial due diligence on grant applicants. Financial due diligence for grant funders is a process that allows funders to assess the financial health, and stability of potential grant recipients. An evaluation like this helps ensure that any grant money is used effectively, responsibly, and in alignment with the grant’s objectives, ultimately protecting the funder’s reputation and ensuring the long-term impact of investments. We would also take your team through scenarios and examples of how to manage any risks identified moving forward too. Financial due diligence for grant funders is an assessment that extends beyond a financial check; it’s a proactive approach to ensure that grant investments are made with the best, and data-driven judgement.

5. Financial controls in an international context 

Working in an international context puts a different spin on financial controls with additional legislation and risks. We can offer a day-long session which explores these aspects in more detail using real life case studies to help you relate it to your work. All our training sessions come with full training packs filled with useful resources and the days are fully interactive with activities split throughout the day. So, whether you’re already working in an international context, or you’re weighing up the options, we can help make those financial plans and goals a reality with you.

This quarter is the perfect time to take stock of 2025, and even initiate some training and action plans in readiness for an ambitious 2026. 

If you’d like advice about any of the training we offer, or you have questions about our other services please contact the team today https://www.enaidaccountancy.co.uk/services/