Nonprofit financial management is so much more than balance sheets and crunching numbers! When an organization’s finances are evaluated and managed effectively and ethically, it provides nonprofits with the ability to use their monetary resources to best accomplish their missions and causes. Accurate financial management also provides nonprofits with an invaluable asset that we all wish we had a little bit more of right now; stability.

Read on to learn more about this month’s focus, Financial Management, based on Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence.

Financial Management. Nonprofits have an obligation to act as responsible stewards in managing their financial resources. Nonprofits must comply with all legal and financial requirements and should adhere to sound accounting principles that produce reliable financial information, ensure fiscal responsibility and build public trust. Nonprofits should use their financial resources to accomplish their missions in effective and efficient ways and should establish clear policies and practices to regularly monitor how funds are used. Nonprofit organizations should seek to maintain or sustain a business model that will offer reliable, flexible, and diverse resources to accomplish the organization’s mission. Read more.

Download this self-assessment based on Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence – Financial Management.

For fun, give this Sustainability Mindset Wordsearch a shot!

More than 30 years later, she continues her selfless service as an officer and board member of many area nonprofits.  Most significantly, for Nonprofit Austin, she is an outstanding faculty member in our Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management, and in Effective Fundraising, and helped develop and leads several sessions in our Certificate in Nonprofit Financial Management.

Shannon’s passion and innate ability to translate financial matters into language that both informs and motivates makes her one of our most popular faculty. Despite an intense workload – especially during tax season – she is always eager to help others.

Shannon is a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner. She manages audit and other engagements from start to finish for nonprofit organizations and nonprofit commercial entities. She also provides forensic accounting services and oversees all nonprofit tax preparation services for the Austin location of Brown, Graham & Company.

Meeting Shannon, one is immediately impressed by an internal fortitude that, no doubt, served her well during her 7 years as an imagery intelligence and collection requirements officer in the US Air Force and later acquisition of her master’s degree in Business Administration.

Reading her bio narrative, one is equally impressed by her humanity, compassion, and empathy, reflected in her focus on needs rather than just organizations: “Her nonprofit clients include membership associations, social clubs and charitable organizations with such diverse programs as affordable housing, public radio broadcasting and services for victims of child abuse, family violence and sexual assault.”

Shannon is passionate about educating the public about preventing and detecting fraud as it is such a significant threat to our community nonprofits, businesses, and churches.  Among her other activities, she is active in Bikers Against Child Abuse – Sam Bass Chapter.  On weekends, she “can often be found riding her 2006 Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle with her husband, reading or relishing time spent with her 4 semi-adult children.”

Shannon is a highly valued member of our Nonprofit Austin faculty.  She brings excitement and meaning and fosters curiosity and understanding of financial management matters.  She has added immeasurably to our professional development initiatives.

Thank you, England!