A Look Rearward and Forward

Rely on Financial Statements to Make Decisions for the Future

By Yvonne de Calonne

Financial statements regularly slide over your desk and pass through board members' hands, providing a wealth of financial data on your nonprofit's most recent month, quarter or year. But do you and the board rely on this valuable information to make business decisions and plan for the organization's future?

Looking for insights
Think of the audited financial statements as a family album, providing a history of your nonprofit's financial past. Examining that past can help you better manage your organization now and in the months and years ahead.

To glean meaningful insights from these documents, you need to understand what each statement represents. Take it a step further, and you (or the board members) can use the data to create a trend analysis, an industry comparison or a projection of upcoming challenges. Such tools can springboard your organization to making better-informed decisions.

Understanding basic financials
Being able to use the information in basic financial statements to strategize for your organization starts with understanding the statements' purposes and components. Continue reading here.

Yvonne B. de Calonne joined VonLehman a year ago after her previous company, Dunbar, Cook & Shepard was acquired. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from IUPUI and has over 25 years in the field. Yvonne specializes in tax, audit and accounting services for nonprofit organizations.