Assessing and Building Partners’ Financial Management Capacity

Purpose

To build the confidence and skills of NGO staff to assess and strengthen local partner NGOs' financial management systems and capacity.

Target Audience
This course is designed for staff in international NGOs whose role includes supporting programmes implemented by local partner NGOs and assessing the partners' capacity to manage project funds.
For those with no previous financial management experience or training it is recommended that they first attend the companion course - FM3UK Financial Management for Effective Programmes: a Programme Officer's Survival Course - which takes place immediately before the FM9.

Course Content
The final balance of course content will be decided by those attending the course, according to their interests and training needs. Also see below for the Programme Guide.
The core components of this course include:
•Frameworks and checklists for assessing capacity and analysing financial risk
•Interpreting partners' financial reports
•Identifying strategies to build on strengths and improve on weaknesses

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Do: •apply the Seven Principles of Financial Management to identify strengths and weaknesses in financial management systems
•utilise the Mango Health Check to help partner NGOs self-assess their financial management systems and procedures
•analyse partners' financial reports using the ratio analysis technique
•use a funding mix matrix to assess the financial sustainability status of partner NGOs

Know: •describe common financial management challenges facing partner NGOs in the field
•identify strategies to strengthen partners' financial management systems and procedures

Feel: •appreciate the contribution that effective financial management has on their partner NGOs' ability to manage project funds.
Training Approach
The Mango training approach is highly practical, participatory and often fun! We focus on real issues and help participants to use the techniques covered, rather than just discuss them. We work especially hard to de-mystify financial concepts to overcome the fear of finance.