Internal Controls: Safeguard Your Nonprofit's Assets

What processes does your nonprofit have in place to mitigate risks, ensure compliance, most importantly safeguard your precious assets? In this podcast episode, Stephanie discusses what internal controls are and why it’s important to have them in place… to safeguard your precious assets. 

She has seen all too many times the consequences organizations face when they do not have these procedures in place. And no, it’s not just because an auditor “dinged” the organization for not having these policies. Unfortunately, she’s seen much worse. The good news?! You don’t have to be one of those horror stories, because you’re going to tune into this podcast and learn all the things about internal controls, like…

…the four most important types of internal controls: financial, fraud protection, cybersecurity, and conflicts of interest. Plus, strategies to implement these policies in your nonprofit and how to communicate procedures with your board members and staff. Hint: It’s not creating the policy, filing it into a drawer, and never looking at it again. (And if you’ve done this in the past, there is zero judgment. However, there is a better way!)

Read the podcast transcript here. 

 

Episode Summary:

In today's episode, you’ll learn strategies for safeguarding your assets by using internal controls, including: 

• What internal controls are (1:05)

• Financial management and controls (3:55)

• Fraud prevention and protection (6:45)

• Cybersecurity and data protection (10:30)

• Conflicts of interest (12:45)

• Sharing internal control policies with your team (16:00)

• Resources for training your board (18:50)

 

Teasers:

“We have a responsibility as nonprofit organizations to safeguard our assets and to safeguard the money that has been entrusted to us by our donors, by our funders, and we need to have the appropriate controls and rules in place to make sure that everything is safe.”

“Making sure that you've got two people in every step of that process is really helpful for having a solid internal control.”

“If this [cybersecurity] is not in your budget for next year, I would do some research and put it in your budget.”

“It's always this continuous improvement process.”

 

Huge thank you to our sponsor, GrantsWorks!

With billions of dollars in federal grant funding available, now is the time to learn about how to apply for and manage federal grants from Patrice Davis, an expert who simplifies federal grants. Her Federal Grants Simplified Bootcamp is a six week hybrid training that gives you the freedom to access on-demand training on your schedule and to attend live weekly Q&A sessions with Patrice. Plus, GrantsWorks is an ACFRE approved continuing education provider. Use code DEGREES for 10% off your registration.

 

Resources

• Grantsworks: www.grantsworksacademy.com/federal-grants-simplified 
• Master Your Nonprofit Numbers: 100degreesconsulting.com/nonprofitnumbers  
• Keep up to date with the podcast: @100degreesconsulting
• Follow Stephanie on Instagram: @stephanie.skry/ 
• Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieskryzowski/ 
• Visit the podcast page:  http://100degreesconsulting.com/internal-controls 

 

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