Not for Profit Sector - Corporate Plus Accountants | Growth planning for the life of your business

The Not for Profit or Third sector (Public/Government and Private/For Profit being the others) is one of the largest “industries” in Australia accounting for some $30b of our Gross Domestic Product. Up to 65% of the population belong to an NFP. (Source: Third Sector/Centre for Social Impact). As a result it is subject to increasing regulation including the meeting of professional and compliance standards. Corporate+ has been involved with Not for Profit entities for over 15 years – below are examples of our involvement.

Financial Healthchecks

Your organisation may have been running for a number of years or be newly starting out but the importance of efficient and effective processes remains paramount. At Corporate+ we can undertake a review of your current practises and procedures assessing how you sit compared to industry best practise, effective resource allocation and compliance requirements. We can also produce a prioritised recommendation report to senior management for implementation.

Financial Management

Decisions are only as good as the data that they are based on. At Corporate+ we’re committed to getting the right data to those that require it, in the most relevant way and within the best timeframe. We have experience in both assisting clients with initial set up of their accounting systems and also revising or restructuring current accounting processes and reporting. The increasing development of cloud and web based accounting packages can make their set up or transition an unknown prospect. At Corporate+ we walk alongside you in the process, liaising with all parties to ensure a streamlined and efficient process.

Budget and Long Range Plan Model Reviews

In our experience a templated budget or long range planning model can, over time, lose its integrity due to manual changes. Sometimes these are necessary to tailor the model to the entity or done under tight time constraints but going forward, unless corrected, they can result in data becoming incorrect and therefore unreliable. At Corporate+ we’re able to conduct an independent review of your current model, highlighting any discrepancies in the model to enable correction, but also working with you to improve your staffs’ understanding of the model to enable the more effective usage going forward.

Project Appraisals & Grant Applications

Not for Profit entities often have specific issues when it comes to funding. Combine this with the occasional need for large capital projects and the importance of reliable and accurate financial data is paramount. Having an external and independent appraisal of a project or assistance with the completion of the sometimes complex grant application, means that the Board, the grant assessment body and/or financial institutions will have confidence that the project has been adequately reviewed and have an accurate insight in to its financial viability.

Board Financial Guidance

Every member of a Board is now responsible for the correct governance of an entity and that includes the financial situation - some Board members may lack the skills or experience to deal with the financials. Our staff at Corporate+ has experience in both reporting to and being on Boards (of both Commercial and Not for Profit entities) and have excellent communication skills to enabling the bridging of that knowledge gap. Assistance with Board development includes:

We can assist in many ways with Board development including:

Assessing an entities current financial situation and reporting this to the Board
Assessing a specific financial project and reporting its financial viability to the Board
Running a professional development session for Board members to introduce them to an entities financial statements and current financial situation

Educational Sector

Private Education – Business management support for schools

Corporate + has been involved in providing strategic planning, management and financial advice for educational institutions for over 15 years. The experience that has been developed over this period has placed Corporate+ in a unique position in terms of the knowledge it can offer its Educational clients. We’re ideally placed to assist schools with all financials issues - we already have the respect of many of the associated institutions and a working understanding of the specific compliance requirements for schools such as the Financial Questionnaires, MySchool data as well as the process for grant and loan applications that are so specific to the educational sector.

We currently actively assist a number of Colleges (with students ranging from Kindergarten to Year 12), some of which we’ve been involved since their inception. We provide a range of services (as well as those detailed in the Not for Profit section of this website) including strategic planning, monthly board financial statements, cash flows/budgets, project management and ad hoc financial advice.