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YouthBuild Blueprint: Fiscal Management

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Good fiscal processes encompass two primary areas: accountability and internal controls. Sound fiscal systems must be in place to protect the integrity of the program and its funding. This includes systems to track and report expenditures against a monthly budget, pay vendors and employees on time, ensure adequate internal controls, and submit financial reports to funders on a timely basis.

This section references the regulations codifying the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) government-wide grants requirements at 2 CFR parts 200 and 2900.

Accountability

When money is given to a nonprofit entity, there is a fiduciary responsibility to use those funds in the manner proscribed and with clear tracking available. This requires that an organization be accountable for the funds they receive.

Accountability for funds is shown in multiple ways:

On-time reporting to funders (for example, DOL ETA-9130)
On-time reporting to the IRS (nonprofits must submit Form 990 annually to the IRS)
On-time payroll tax and report submissions
Interim and Annual Fiscal Reports
An annual independent audit

Internal Controls

An organization must have good internal controls to have full assurance and accountability. Internal controls delegate duties around money so that no one person can purposefully or mistakenly misuse funds. The internal controls for your organization’s fiscal processes should be captured in its fiscal policies and procedures.

The Office of Management and Budget governs good fiscal process. For more information, read OMB Circular A-122: Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations.

Best Practices in Fiscal Management

Coordination between an organization's programmatic and fiscal management teams is strongly encouraged. When these two important components of grant management are not aligned, it can create a silo effect, where one part of the grant management team may not fully be aware or understand what the other side is doing. This can generate disjointedness within the grant and grant management team, possibly resulting in issues for your grant. Consider creating intentional coordination between your programmatic and fiscal staff to prevent this. This may include:

Strong policies and procedures that coordinate the activities between program and fiscal staff where appropriate (purchases, payroll, procurements, etc.).
Hold regularly scheduled joint meetings between program and fiscal staff. This allows for greater information-sharing between the two areas and can help to provide context regarding the overall management of the grant.

Please see the following subchapters on fiscal management:

Allowable Costs

Match Requirement

Reporting

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Content Details

Topics:

Financial Management - General

Target Populations:

Youth - Out-of-School/Drop-Out

Programs:

YouthBuild

Geographic Locations:

National Scope

Industry Sectors:

Cross-Industry

Last Updated:
Created:
Resource Publication Date: 2023
Posted by: YouthBuild TA
Posted in: YouthBuild