Financial management
Get your club on target! Financial management encompasses all the activities undertaken by your youth club which have a financial impact. Consequently, financial management plays a key role in securing the sustainability of your youth club. This is because financial planning, financial control and financial decision making are all required to realise the overall mission and objectives of your youth club and to enable your youth club to plan for continued growth in order to ensure stability.
Financial management provides direction, determines and clarifies accountability, evaluates resources and delivers information that can be used in planning, assessing impact and reporting. It also allows your youth club to identify legal obligations through implementing good practice in accounting for finances.
Financial management will therefore impact on the decisions you make and should be integrated into all aspects of your youth club’s operations. Whether you are a treasurer, manager, finance worker, committee member, or other volunteer, support is available from a variety of sources. And the good news is there is lots of free support available to you!
Where do I start?
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is a good starting point. Their website provides a comprehensive range of information, resources, publications and links on all aspects of financial management. You can search by topic to find detailed information covering basic definitions and concepts, FAQs and practical resources to help your youth club with the following:
- Financial strategy: planning strategically and holistically to effectively manage your financial resources. Discover how to stay on mission through planning and monitoring your performance.
- Budgeting: why budget and how to do it. Learn how to identify and control potential problems before they spiral out of control.
- Accounting: understanding your financial statements and preparing accounts. Compare the different models, tools and frameworks available and undertake an organisational health check
- Audit: what to expect from an internal or external audit. Read and tailor a model terms of reference for an audit committee.
- Full cost recovery: learn more about the background and types of overhead costs. Discover a template to understand and calculate your full costs of projects, activities or services.
- Managing financial resources: getting the most from the resources you have. Learn how to implement, manage and evaluate procedures to maximise your performance.
- Investment: be aware of the options and methods available to manage your reserves. View a sample investment policy to compare and/or adapt.
- Risk: minimise financial risk and maximise your opportunities. Read a case study about implementing risk management.
- Tax: an introduction of the main issues surrounding the sector and taxation. Read about the different types of donor relief and the necessary requirements to ensure your success.
What else is out there?
A range of publications are also available via the NCVO website to provide assistance, including the The Good Financial Management Guide for the Voluntary Sector. The Directory of Social Change also provides a range of publications on finance issues, as well as a programme of training courses.
If you are looking for financial management advice which is tailored more specifically to your youth club’s needs, you could look for a community accountancy services (CAS) near you. Community accountancy services provide local financial management advice, support, training and consultancy. Some services are free or discounted. You can find your nearest local community accountancy service on the Community Accountancy National Network (CANN) website. CANN also provides a series of guidance notes for organisations as a useful starting point.
CASH (Community Accountancy Self Help) is one London-based community accountancy service that provides financial advice and training to small charities and voluntary groups. Their services include one-to-one casework, training courses and publications, all of which are geared towards providing people with the basic financial skills needed to run successful organisations, for example, writing budgets, bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, cash accounting, preparing finance reports for trustees and fundraising. CASH can also assist groups with more advanced skills including computerising accounts, producing unit costs and developing business plans.
Their website, CASH-ONLINE, contains CASHFACTS, a series of factsheets covering all aspects of financial management relevant to small charities. And Community Money Matters is their comprehensive guide to financial management and accounting for small charities and community organisations, with special emphasis on running community buildings and employment issues. CASH also run a series of training courses on financial management in the London area. CASH is a member of the Community Accountancy National Network (CANN).
