Accounting and Financial Reporting for NGOs Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Managers, NGO Accountants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-009

Before you join: Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, accruals, bank reconciliations and basic financial statements.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

NGO finance teams must account for restricted grants, donor conditions, programme costs and shared services while producing reliable reports for management, boards, donors and auditors. Errors in cost allocation, grant income recognition, cash forecasting or supporting documentation can lead to questioned costs, delayed funding, audit findings and weak decision-making. This course addresses the finance work that sits between daily transaction processing and credible external reporting.

Participants learn how to structure fund and project accounting, operate an effective month-end close, prepare budgets and forecasts, and account for grants under appropriate recognition principles. The course covers restricted and unrestricted funds, donor compliance, indirect cost allocation, cash management, financial statements, internal controls and audit-ready reporting. Participants also examine IFRS for SMEs, IPSAS concepts and IFRS 15 considerations relevant to common NGO transactions.

The five-day instructor-led course combines short technical briefings with NGO cases, group analysis, reporting simulations and application planning. Participants work with realistic grant agreements, budget variances, cash shortfalls, donor reporting requirements and audit evidence issues. They leave with a reusable set of finance templates, including a donor compliance matrix, month-end close checklist, rolling cash forecast and reporting review checklist. Delivery is available in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online. Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is designed for finance professionals who already understand basic accounting and now need to manage the reporting, control and compliance demands of NGO, charity, foundation, humanitarian or donor-funded operations.

What you will be able to do

  • Prepare fund-based accounting entries for restricted, unrestricted and endowment funds
  • Build a month-end close process with reconciliations, adjustments and review controls
  • Develop grant budgets, indirect cost allocations and budget-versus-actual variance analyses
  • Construct a 13-week rolling cash forecast and funding-gap scenarios
  • Assess grant agreements for income recognition, eligible costs and reporting obligations
  • Prepare NGO financial statements and supporting disclosures using relevant reporting principles
  • Design internal control matrices for payments, procurement, payroll and grant expenditure
  • Produce audit-ready donor financial reports with reconciled evidence and explanatory narratives

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence handling restricted funds and grant income entries
  • A repeatable method for reviewing donor agreements and eligible costs
  • Stronger ability to explain budget variances to programme and senior managers
  • Practical preparation for donor audits, external audits and finance reviews
  • Reusable reporting tools for month-end, cash planning and grant close-out

For your organisation

  • Fewer questioned costs through clearer donor compliance and evidence controls
  • More reliable cash visibility across grants, payroll and supplier commitments
  • Timelier donor reports supported by reconciled ledgers and allocation schedules
  • Better budget accountability between finance and programme delivery teams
  • Stronger audit readiness through documented controls, files and review procedures

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can structure accounts and accounting treatments for restricted, unrestricted and endowment funds.

  • Purpose restrictions, donor conditions and fund accounting treatment compared
  • Accounting equation applied to unrestricted, restricted and endowment funds
  • Chart of accounts design using fund, project and donor codes
  • Revenue recognition distinctions for grants, contributions, contracts and membership fees
  • Expense classification by nature, function, programme and supporting activity
  • Materiality judgements documented for NGO financial statement preparation

Participants can operate a controlled month-end close supported by reconciliations and review evidence.

  • Accrual adjustments for receivables, payables, prepayments, depreciation and provisions
  • Journal entries record restricted grant advances and deferred income
  • Bank reconciliations identify timing differences, errors and unexplained items
  • Control accounts reconcile subsidiary ledgers to the general ledger
  • Month-end close checklist assigns evidence, review and sign-off responsibilities
  • Trial balance review detects posting errors and unusual account movements

Participants can prepare grant budgets and explain financial variances using clear allocation and forecasting methods.

  • Driver-based budgets link activity volumes, unit costs and staffing assumptions
  • Restricted grant budgets separate eligible costs, cost categories and periods
  • Budget narratives align expenditure lines with donor-approved activities
  • Indirect cost allocation uses documented bases for shared services
  • Variance analysis separates price, volume, timing and scope drivers
  • Forecast revisions preserve original budget, approved changes and latest estimate

Participants can forecast cash needs and act early on liquidity risks across restricted funding streams.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast uses receipts, payroll and supplier commitments
  • Cash conversion analysis identifies collection delays and payment concentration
  • Scenario modelling tests delayed grants, currency movements and funding gaps
  • Liquidity reserves policy sets minimum cash thresholds and escalation triggers
  • Bank account structures support restricted cash tracking and payment controls
  • Working capital actions prioritise receivables follow-up and payable scheduling

Participants can translate grant terms into accounting, documentation and reporting requirements.

  • Grant agreement review extracts reporting dates, eligible costs and restrictions
  • Donor compliance matrix maps clauses to evidence, owners and deadlines
  • Cost eligibility testing distinguishes allowable, allocable and unsupported expenditure
  • Time allocation records substantiate payroll charges to donor-funded projects
  • Foreign currency grant transactions follow documented translation and remeasurement policies
  • Grant close-out reconciles unspent balances, assets, deliverables and final reports

Participants can prepare and interpret financial statements and management reports for NGO stakeholders.

  • Statement of financial position classifies assets, liabilities and net assets
  • Statement of activities presents restricted and unrestricted income movements
  • Cash flow statement uses operating, investing and financing classifications
  • Notes disclose accounting policies, commitments, related parties and restricted funds
  • Comparative figures, prior-period errors and policy changes receive proper treatment
  • Management accounts connect financial statements with programme performance indicators

Participants can apply relevant reporting principles to common NGO income, asset and liability decisions.

  • IFRS for SMEs recognition principles applied to common NGO transactions
  • IPSAS concepts compared where public grants and government entities apply
  • IFRS 15 assessment distinguishes contracts with customers from contributions
  • Revenue conditions and restrictions assessed before recognising grant income
  • Property, equipment and intangible asset policies set useful lives
  • Impairment indicators trigger documented review of receivables and programme assets

Participants can assess financial control gaps and assemble evidence that supports audit scrutiny.

  • COSO control components frame governance, risk assessment and monitoring
  • Segregation of duties matrix separates initiation, approval, custody and recording
  • Procurement thresholds and competitive quotations address value-for-money and fraud risks
  • Payment controls verify supporting documents, authority limits and bank details
  • Fraud risk register identifies red flags, controls and reporting routes
  • Internal audit evidence supports findings, recommendations and management responses

Participants can produce donor reports that reconcile to accounting records and withstand review.

  • Donor financial reports reconcile approved budgets, ledgers and supporting schedules
  • Budget-versus-actual reports explain material variances with corrective actions
  • Cost allocation schedules trace shared costs using approved allocation bases
  • Financial narrative links expenditure, outputs, milestones and delivery risks
  • Report review protocol checks arithmetic, consistency, evidence and authorisation
  • Audit-ready files index vouchers, contracts, payroll and reconciliations

Participants can present finance information for governance decisions and prioritise reporting improvements.

  • Finance committee packs combine liquidity, budget, grant and risk indicators
  • Key performance indicators connect cost efficiency with programme delivery measures
  • Restricted fund roll-forwards explain opening balances, movements and closing balances
  • Going-concern assessment considers funding pipeline, cash forecasts and commitments
  • Management representation evidence supports annual audit and governance oversight
  • Personal application plan assigns reporting improvements, owners and target dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Fund and project chart-of-accounts design template
  2. Month-end close checklist
  3. 13-week rolling cash forecast model
  4. Donor compliance matrix
  5. Indirect cost allocation schedule
  6. Donor report review checklist

Who should attend

  • Finance Managers — responsible for financial control, reporting quality and finance team supervision
  • NGO Accountants — preparing ledgers, reconciliations, grant reports and financial statements
  • Grants Finance Officers — monitoring donor budgets, eligible costs and reporting deadlines
  • Programme Managers — accountable for spending against approved budgets and donor conditions
  • Finance Directors — overseeing liquidity, governance reporting, audit readiness and funding risk
  • Internal Auditors — reviewing financial controls, grant compliance and supporting documentation

Skills and tools covered

Fund accountingGrant complianceCash flow forecastingDonor reportingFinancial statement preparationInternal controls

Tools and standards

IFRS for SMEs Standard, International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, COSO Internal Control Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with guided analysis of NGO finance cases. Participants review grant clauses, prepare accounting treatments, analyse budget variances, build cash forecasts and assess reporting evidence. Group work tests decisions on restricted income, shared-cost allocation, procurement controls and audit findings. Reporting simulations use sample ledgers, budgets and donor formats. Each participant develops an application plan for improving a current reporting, control or grant-management process after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, accruals, bank reconciliations and basic financial statements. Experience in an NGO, charity, foundation, donor-funded project, public-benefit entity or related finance role is helpful. Participants should be comfortable reading a trial balance, budget and income-and-expenditure report. Prior knowledge of IFRS, IPSAS, donor rules, specialist NGO software or audit procedures is not required. The course explains relevant reporting principles before applying them to grant-funded and restricted-fund scenarios.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need a working knowledge of basic bookkeeping, accruals, reconciliations and financial statements. Previous NGO finance experience is useful but not essential; the course explains the relevant fund, grant and donor-reporting context.

Bring a laptop if possible, particularly for live online delivery and spreadsheet-based activities. Participants may also bring a redacted grant agreement, chart of accounts or reporting format to consider during application planning.

It is designed for accountants, finance managers, grants finance officers, programme managers and internal auditors supporting nonprofit or donor-funded work. It also suits finance staff moving from commercial accounting into NGO, charity or foundation roles.

General accounting courses focus mainly on transaction processing and standard financial statements. This course concentrates on restricted funds, donor conditions, grant budgets, cost eligibility, donor reports, cash constraints and audit evidence.

Participants can use the templates to strengthen month-end procedures, review grant terms, improve cash forecasts and prepare donor reports. The application plan identifies a specific process improvement, owner and target date for follow-through.

The course runs for five training days from 08:30 to 16:30, providing about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided between instructor input, worked NGO cases, group analysis, reporting simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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