By Bradford Jones, CPA, CVA, CMA, CFF

Not-for-profits need strategic and comprehensive support to achieve their unique goals and remain compliant with a myriad of regulations. Your organization deserves the time and resources to focus on raising necessary funding to remain financially sustainable and optimize program delivery and effectiveness.

However, the accounting and finance functions of not-for-profits are complex and can be especially challenging when staff and funding are limited.

Struggles within your accounting department drain time and resources you could be using to focus on achieving the core mission of the organization. Those struggles can include:

• Properly managing multiple funding sources
• Generating accurate financial reports
• Conducting insightful analysis about donations, membership dues and other KPIs
• Organizing expense allocation
• Ensuring federal, state, and local tax compliance

Outsourced Accounting Solutions for Not-for-Profit Organizations

Outsourced accounting can be a powerful solution. By outsourcing your accounting and finance functions, your organization can accomplish so much more, including:

• Ensure consistency and accuracy of bookkeeping and accounting.
• Eliminate the burden of hiring, training, supervising, and managing internal accounting staff.
• Tap into specialized expertise typically unavailable within the constraints of small organizations and scarce resources.
• Uncover insights that enable you to make more informed and data-driven decisions.
• Rely on the outsourcing partner’s unique set of skills and knowledge not readily found in the marketplace.
• Secure outsourced or interim CFO services to help you meet your not-for-profit financial planning and management, accounting, and bookkeeping needs.

How to Find the Right Finance and Accounting Outsourcing (FAO) Provider

For non-profits, operating a finance and accounting department can become overwhelming — especially when budget and staff are limited.

Outsourced accounting can help ensure consistency and accuracy of bookkeeping and accounting. Plus, you can tap into specialized and extensive not-for-profit expertise usually unavailable within the constraints of small organizations and scarce resources. But, here’s the thing: you’ve got to find the right FAO provider.

To properly vet an FAO provider, check that the provider has:

• Experience. Be sure the provider has experience working with not-for-profits.
• A proven tech strategy. Ask about the software and tools they use to manage finance and accounting processes. The provider should be able to explain how they plan to integrate with your existing systems, if needed.
• The ability to scale with you. Ask about how they will accommodate your future growth, e.g., increase in transaction volume, additional processes, etc.
• Data security and compliance protocols. Assess the provider’s data security protocols, adherence to regulatory requirements, and compliance certifications.

When you work with PBMares, you can expect us to check all the boxes above. You can also expect us to provide:

• A highly disciplined and structured process
• A team with specialized industry expertise
• A completely virtual, paperless, and non-intrusive experience

Learn More

There are fewer things more important to a not-for-profit’s continued success than maintaining accurate financial records and regulatory compliance. Well-prepared and accurate financial statements communicate to donors that your organization is trustworthy and transparent — two characteristics essential to fostering ongoing relationships with stakeholders.

At PBMares, our outsourced accounting services make your life easier and your organization stronger. Our experienced finance and accounting professionals deeply understand nonprofits. Let us help your organization get back to focusing on program delivery and raising the funds that sustain your not-for-profit’s core mission.

Contact Brad Jones today to learn more about what you and your organization can accomplish when you outsource your accounting and finance functions.