I hope you’ve enjoyed Finance Week for NFPs 2025 so far! Let’s mark this in our annual board calendar and keep all things money matters and finances top of mind for our organisations’ financial success!
We’ve put together a week of articles, video content from thought leaders in the financial and accounting spaces – BNZ, Grant Thornton and Trust Management have generously provided their thought leadership and knowledge for us, to help build our financial knowledge bank.
When it comes to our governing roles, there’s always something we can learn and our investment in growing our financial knowledge will help sustain and grow the organisations we serve. Staying up to date with current trends and information and understanding the organisation’s finances – is key to our community success.
Why Financial Confidence is so Important
The financial health of your organisation is an important building block, its the core foundation that will guide your organisation to success and on-going financial sustainability.
Here are a few reasons building financial knowledge is a must:
- Informed Decision-Making: Knowing your financial status helps you make better decisions for your community group. It’s like having a clear roadmap to follow. (Barry had a great article on Day 1 about this).
- Transparency and Trust: Open communication about finances fosters trust among your team and stakeholders. People like to know where their money is going, after all! (Day 3, Rachael explores this)
- Sustainability: Understanding your funding sources and managing your budget ensures your organisation can continue its fantastic work for years to come. (Check out Community Governance Resource Hub for templates).
Common Concerns and How to Tackle Them
I’ve put together a few common concerns that I often hear from our sector. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, many of us have been here!
- Lack of Financial Confidence
Joining a board can be daunting, especially if you don’t have a finance background, it can be tough to get your head around financial statements and reports, and to grasp how key risks might affect the organisation in the long run. This is particularly true for not-for-profits, where every dollar counts and understanding the financials is crucial for making informed decisions. - Understanding Financial Terminology
The “financial lingo” can be daunting. Terms like “current assets” and “liabilities” can add to the lack of confidence in asking good questions and puts us on the back foot if you’re not used to reading performance statements or profit and loss account statements. - Funding Challenges
Securing adequate funding is a significant concern especially if reliant upon one or two funders. Diversifying your funding sources is very important, understanding how you generate revenue (whether donations, grants or investments) and knowing if the tap was turned off, what could happen, and would your not-for-profit survive.
Top Tips for Financial Success
Let’s wrap up with some top tips to keep your community organisation financially healthy:
- Stay Informed: Read up, attend workshops, invest in your kete of financial knowledge and build your confidence!
- Be Transparent: Foster open communication with your finance team and ask questions, nine out of ten times, the person next to you wants to know the answer too, so don’t be shy, just ask!
- Plan Ahead: Anticipate future financial needs and plan accordingly – think about your organisation as you would your own health, are we thriving, or exhausted, what fuel do we have in the tank, what do we need e.g., do we need more volunteer help, donations/resources.
- Align with Your Mission: Ensure all financial decisions support your core strategy – often we might not match these two up, again, resources (staff, time, money) – ask good financial questions eg: is this realistic to deliver, do we have the money to deliver quality services?
- Seek Expertise: Don’t hesitate to consult with financial professionals or attend workshops to enhance your knowledge.
Resources to Get You Started
Some great resources available:
- CommunityNet NZ Introduction to Financial Management https://community.net.nz/resources/community-resource-kit/introduction-to-financial-management
- Sport NZ: A great selection of excellent resources for governance and financial guidance
- Financial Management Policies: CEO financial management policy
Remember you are the key to your organisations success, step up and if your not confident, find a friend, advisor or mentor to get you up to speed (or advance) your financial knowledge.
Build that kete!
About Rose Hiha-Agnew
Rose is the Chief Executive Officer (Tumu Whakarae) of Community Governance Aotearoa, an organisation dedicated to supporting community governance in Aotearoa. With a strong background in not-for-profit governance, Rose has extensive experience in guiding over 4,700 board members and organisations, addressing complex issues, and providing advice on governance and compliance such as the Charities Act and Incorporated Societies Act changes.
Rose is highly networked, having served as chief executive, chair, and board member. She is an active speaker and writer on governance practice and thought leadership throughout New Zealand.
