It’s auditing time!  This can be an exciting, yet stressful time of year.  Audits can cause a great deal of anxiety, require immense commitment and can take countless hours.  There are, however, some key steps your nonprofit organization can take to ensure a successful, stress-free audit.

1.      Schedule meetings with your auditor. 

It is recommended that you meet with your auditor early to determine what they will need (e.g. reporting requirements); the timeline and resources that may be needed to support the audit.  You should probably schedule recurring meetings throughout the year to stay on track with the timeline and goals.

2.      Build-out audit reports throughout the year. 

Upon meeting with your auditor on the specifics, you should review the existing reports in your nonprofit accounting software to determine if the pre-defined and/or user-defined reports meet the auditor’s requirements.  Please feel free to contact Serenic Support/Consultants for assistance.  Send sample reports to your auditor and ask for feedback.  This avoids the organization rushing to hammer out a report at the last minute. 

3.      Review financial statements on a regular basis. 

You should review the financial statements once a month to confirm accuracy.  Setup a scheduled reminder using Microsoft® Outlook’s Task Manager, Microsoft Project, etc. to stay on task.  Pay attention to your balance sheet.  If the balance sheet is not up to par, more than likely the income statements will be off.  Catching mistakes early can save valuable time that can be lost if you wait until the end of the year to review.

4.      Reconcile payables and receivables.  

Review the receivables and payables balances at least once a month.  This can also be another time-saving tool if done in advance.  Serenic Navigator has pre-defined reports that can aid you in this process.  Take a look at the Aged Accounts Receivable, Aged Accounts Receivable by Fund, Aged Accounts Payable and/or Aged Accounts Payable by Fund reports.

5.      Provide reports to department heads. 

Provide financial and income statements to the department managers to keep them up to date on the financial status.  Ask for feedback on any corrections that may needed.

6.      Perform internal audits. 

If you have the resources, you can hire an internal auditor to review the financial statements and work with the external auditors.  This may help free up resources at the organization and ease the stress of the audit.  If hiring an internal auditor is not feasible, look at designating a team with specific responsibilities for each person so that the staff isn’t feeling too overwhelmed.  Schedule recurring meetings to discuss the financial statements and financial health of the organization. 

Can you provide some other recommendations that have aided your organization in a successful audit?

As we look toward 2013 and new resolutions, it’s also that time of year to look back and recount the past twelve months.  For the Serenic blog, we’ve seen a wide range of educational and fun posts written for the nonprofit, NGO and public sector.  We thought it would be interesting to see what the most visited posts were and to share them again!

Popular topics included cloud accounting, donor management, payroll, accounting tips and Dynamics NAV; but, the most visited posts and tags searched are listed below:

Top posts and tags for 2012:

• Software License vs. Subscription Models – Is Licensing Right for You?
• 3 Reasons Why NGOs Need Grants Management Software
• Third Annual NGO Event in Geneva
• The Importance of Accurate Fund Accounting Software for Nonprofits
• Serenic DonorVision – constituent and gift management system built upon Microsoft Dynamics CRM
• Deciding on Outsourcing Payroll

Please share and revisit the links in case you missed them the first time around.

Now onto 2013, here’s hoping for peace, happiness and good will.

Serenic Navigator is an embedded Microsoft Dynamics NAV solution built specifically for the unique needs of nonprofits, NGOs and the public sector.  With the recent release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Serenic Navigator is undergoing significant enhancements based on the latest improvements from Microsoft. 

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 features a new Web Client and SharePoint Client, in addition to an improved Windows Client – formerly referred to as the RoleTailored Client. Each “client” can display the role center, giving users three options to access their data, and allowing for improved collaboration with people inside and outside the company. All three will be included in the upcoming Serenic Navigator release:

Web Client:  The Web Client, which will allow users to access Serenic Navigator via a web browser, is ideal for simple tasks and for users who do not perform heavy data entry.  The Web Client is supported by various browsers and devices, including: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Safari on iPad.  It uses a Simple Server Installation with only IIS required.

Windows Client:  This will include significant enhancements to increase user productivity. The improvements in the new Windows Client will include:  charts, query development, OneNote integration, link sharing, and ribbon enhancements to name a few.   The Action Pane has been redesigned and is now referred to as the “ribbon.” The “ribbon” which appears across the top of displays similar to Microsoft Excel and Word, will include new keyboard shortcuts and can be customized to offer users easy, security-enhanced access to relevant, up-to-date information.  Additional views on ledger entries are being added to History on department pages to let you create custom views on role centers, and filtering enhancements will allow you to use filters on lines of any page.  Plus, there are several other enhancements included in the new Windows Client.

SharePoint Client:  This provides the same functionality as the Web Client, but access is provided via Microsoft SharePoint.  Serenic Navigator pages and reports can be displayed via SharePoint, and allows users who own SharePoint to add Serenic Navigator pages as webparts.

Serenic Navigator 2013 is targeted for release during the first quarter of calendar year 2013.

We are looking forward to some upcoming HR and payroll seminars to be held in January with our partner, CIMAC.  CIMAC, a Microsoft certified partner, is a provider of global software solutions which has offices in Ethiopia.  The seminars will demonstrate Serenic HCM’s powerful HR and payroll software.

SerenicHCM is a human capital management, payroll and human resource management solution built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV.  HCM enables you to direct and execute your daily human resource functions, track and analyze a wealth of employee information, and easily and accurately administer your payroll. Serenic is the exclusive developer of the human resources and payroll products for Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Look for our ad in Fortune, an Ethiopian newspaper, and stay tuned for news on the upcoming seminars.

Serenic Partners with CIMAC in Ethiopia.

Every year the CPA Practice Advisor reviews nonprofit accounting systems and, once again, Serenic Navigator has earned a 5-star review.  We’ve been earning this notable rating for several years now and always look forward to the article.

Since nonprofits have unique accounting needs, such as cross-fiscal-year reporting, grant and donor management, and restricted fund requirements, they need specialized accounting.  And since money is tight and the economy struggling, efficiency, real-time budget monitoring, accountability via reporting, and transparency to funders are all crucial to the success of their missions.  Therefore, this review is very helpful in identifying the right nonprofit financial system for nonprofits.

Each software system is reviewed based on: core fund accounting capabilities, management features, financial reporting, integration, and help/support.

According to Mary Girsch-Bock, Contributing Writer, “Serenic Navigator is a powerful nonprofit product ideally suited for mid-size and larger nonprofit organizations.”  Serenic Navigator is powered by Microsoft Dynamics NAV and offers a variety of financial products that can be purchased separately. Serenic Navigator is available as an on-premises solution, in a subscription-based software as a service (SaaS) model, or as a hosted deployment.

Some other highlights from the review include:

• “Serenic Navigator contains an excellent selection of financial reports that are easily customized to suit the needs of the organization.”
• “Serenic offers excellent audit trail functionality, with all system transaction recorded and stored for easy retrieval.”
• “The comprehensive BudgetVision module contains just about every feature that nonprofit organizations could possibly need, including real time budget preparation, in-depth budget management and monitoring tools, and the ability to create multiple budgets simultaneously.”
• “AwardVision provides users with excellent grant tracking and reporting capability, managing multiple funds simultaneously.”
• “Because Serenic is built using Microsoft Dynamics NAV, it offers seamless integration with all Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.”
• “Serenic Navigator contains excellent Help functionality, including a new Knowledge Center that includes notifications, a search function, feedback button and four types of content, including user guides, how-to articles, how-to videos and troubleshooting tips.”

Read the full review on the CPA Practice Advisor website.

Check out Serenic Navigator's 5-Star Review from CPA Practice Advisor.

We recently presented and hosted at NAVUG (Microsoft Dynamics NAV Users Group) which was a great success.  NAVUG is an annual user conference held just for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV community. There were approximately 300 NAV end users who attended, and we had the pleasure to visit with quite a few at our booth.

During the expo, we presented to a forum of existing Serenic HCM users as well as NAV users who are looking for a fully integrated payroll and HR solution.  Carla Feagan, Serenic Channel Sales Manager, co-presented with an existing Serenic HCM end user, Bonita Amos, Bri-Chem Corp Business Application Analyst.

The presentation, Payroll for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, shared the benefits of a fully integrated payroll solution:

1. Cost Effective

• One upfront fee
• No pre-funding for payroll
• Rely on in house knowledge
• Access to your data

2. Flexibility and Reduction of Workload

• More time to complete payroll
• Freedom to run payroll whenever you want
• No re-keying of information

3. Increased Accuracy

• Posting directly to integrated areas: G/L, Bank, A/P, Jobs and HR
• Reads directly from G/L accounts and dimensions

Despite the presentation being after lunch on the last day, we had an extremely engaged audience with lots of questions and laughter heard throughout the hallways.  We were still being asked questions as we were packing up to leave for the next presentation.  The feedback received after the presentation was extremely positive, and we have been asked to do another similar presentation online for the NAVUG members.

If you missed it and want more information about the Serenic HCM Payroll solution, download a fact sheet, white paper, or case study. You’ll see how it can give you flexibility, access to your own data, a strong payroll calculation engine, and reduce workload!

Successful fundraising is the cornerstone of a nonprofit organization. More than simply asking people for money, fundraising is an art that requires savvy campaigns and fostering relationships. Two-way communication with donors and ongoing analysis of an organization’s fundraising efforts are essential and are more effective with the right, robust donor management software in place.

Serenic’s new DonorVision 2011 (coming soon!!) is a constituent relationship management (CRM) product that is fully integrated with all core financial areas, enabling a nonprofit’s development staff to make contribution entries that flow accurately through the accounting system. Seamless integration with Serenic Navigator financial management software eliminates the need for double data entry into disparate financial and CRM systems and allows users to post reports without exporting and importing spreadsheet data.

Innovative features allow nonprofits to:

1.       Better Manage Donor Communication 

With DonorVision, you not only keep track of communications to and from donors and other constituents, you also can plan and execute communication strategies. You have the ability to log each communication effort, including detailed notes about a phone call or an electronic copy of a letter. Managers can assign and track the status of tasks and calendar items for their staff using the familiar Microsoft Outlook interface, and each item will be synchronized with DonorVision so that the full history of communications with a donor can be viewed at a glance

2.       Cultivate Deeper Relationships

DonorVision improves relationship development by recording extensive biographical data about contributors and other constituents. You can track complete address, employment and education history along with phone, cell phone and e-mail addresses (separate from a mailing address) for maximum accuracy and flexibility. You can manage donor communication preferences by type of contact preferred, and you can store within the constituent record incoming prospect and donor communication – including grant applications, pictures, articles and other key documents.

3.       Segment Constituents For More Targeted Efforts

Marketing lists in DonorVision help create simple and flexible target groups for any communication or solicitation effort. User-defined tags and their categories help track interests, skills, hobbies, committee involvement – any attribute used to track your constituents’ interest in or relationship to your organization. Use tags to create queries and targeted groups, and generate an interaction directly from the segment, allowing you to simultaneously streamline the list creation process and maximize the effectiveness of fundraising and communication efforts.

We recently enjoyed hosting the reception of the InsideNGO workshop in Cape Town, South Africa.  The event, USAID Rules & Regulations: Grants & Cooperative Agreements, focused on the regulations and compliance around USAID grants.  We had the opportunity to meet many international organizations and talked to several delegates about their unique financial requirements.  It was also good to see a couple of our NGO accounting software customers, mothers2mothers and FHI360.  And it is always a pleasure working with Send IT South, our local partner!

Many international organizations depend on USAID funding to support their programs.  Often times the rules and regulations associated with the funding are hard to manage.  The challenge is understanding and keeping up with the complex rules about managing the awards.  Plus, the rules change often, so keeping up-to-date is not easy.  During the workshop, attendees learned how to manage grants and cooperative agreements in accordance with all the regulations and policies.  Maintaining donor compliance is vital!

We look forward to sponsoring more InsideNGO events and following up with delegates.  The Serenic Navigator financial management suite, including AwardVision, are a good fit for international NGOs, making it easy to provide the accountability and transparency required by funders and donors, as well as the grant/award management tools necessary to ensure compliance.

We’ve found many international charities and NGO’s often need a centralized solution, but with a decentralized deployment.  For organizations that operate in multiple countries in which the network environment may not support high speed remote access, stability is unreliable, or the cost of the network is prohibitive, a decentralized model is the appropriate solution!

The top three benefits of a decentralized model typically include:

1. Independent operation – each country/region can operate independently. This guarantees that the operations of the country/region are able to continue regardless of external factors. Each country/region can utilize functionality that has been developed and maintained to support government regulations, statutory reporting, and local business processes. In addition, local languages can be provided to complete the user experience.
2. Global business processes with centralized management – all business processes and setup can be managed based on a global perspective. Organizations are able to develop business processes that span the entire organization around the globe. Business rules enforce the type of data that is being monitored and tracked, while providing each country and region the flexibility to manage locally. This provides the organizations with consistent, timely, and accurate reporting on a global basis.
3. Technology adoption – a decentralized model supports future growth as the network environment evolves around the world. Until network access is stabilized and bandwidth becomes affordable, a decentralized model provides the organization with a dynamic environment that allows it to adapt to the ever-changing technology landscape. This model incorporates the flexibility of changing dynamics within nations and regions. For example, two neighboring countries may have entirely different access and communication capabilities due to dissimilar governmental requirements and infrastructure. One may allow remote access using web portals, while the neighboring country may still be disconnected and require a replication link to the main database.

There are many other benefits which can be found in our Decentralized Deployment technical white paper.  This document provides a technical overview of how to setup and maintain a decentralized solution so that it will evolve as network speed, stability and reliability become more consistent worldwide. Serenic Navigator, Powered by Microsoft Dynamics NAV, can be deployed under various configurations, ranging from a centralized solution with remote access through the NAV role-tailored client, SaaS, terminal server/citrix, Microsoft Excel, or web portals providing a completely decentralized model.

We recently hosted a webcast regarding financial statements, analysis and budgeting.  Thanks to our guest presenter, Marie Brilmyer, CPA M. Acc. from SS&G, for her expertise and tips.

We know that tailoring reports for your board of directors and streamlining your budgeting process is important for any nonprofit or NGO. In the webcast, Marie shared with attendees real-world examples of how to effectively communicate a nonprofit’s financial position.

The webcast gave tips on producing financial statements that others can actually understand.  Marie also pointed out the importance of who should understand them, why they should understand them, and what you can do to help staff members gain the appropriate understanding.

Marie discussed the highlights of the financial statements and the importance of financial analysis.  Finally, she addressed how you can make sure your budget process is smooth, accurate and easily maintained.

Here are just a few of the budget process tips for nonprofits, NGOs, and the public sector:

• Involve your staff, don’t just ask for information, but meet w/ them to discuss
• Provide organization-wide budget information
• Be realistic – make reasonable assumptions about the future based on the current year’s operations, and build in reasonable projections like new hires or possible new funding
• Review and approve the budget with the board and share the approved budget with others
• Clarify who is responsible for monitoring the budget and how often
• Determine “why” there are any significant variances

View this webcast on financial statements and budgeting for nonprofits, or the entire library of on-demand webcasts, on our website.