September 18, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
Nonprofit Financial Planning Made Easy
by Jody Blazek
Jody Blazek, an accountant who specializes in tax and financial services for charities and their leaders, offers a primer in nonprofit finance and tax law to help directors and trustees fulfill their fiscal obligations and keep “financial resources and the mission in balance.”
Ms. Blazek says that board members are bound by the duties of care and loyalty. “The duty of care requires that a director be informed regarding the nonprofit organization’s financial affairs,” she writes. “The duty of loyalty requires that a director act with trustworthiness and integrity.”
But to carry out those responsibilities, board members — along with the executive director, chief financial officer, and other high-ranking charity leaders — must be able to read and understand audits, tax forms, budgets, and other accounting documents.
The book begins with a discussion of why careful financial management is key for a nonprofit organization, and how to build a responsible board, define the group’s mission and goals, and assess what financial resources are available.
Other chapters examine budget, endowment, conflict-of-interest, investment, and accounting issues, and include several dozen worksheets and charts to help readers apply the advice to their own organizations.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 111 River Street, Fourth Floor, Hoboken, N.J. 07030; (201) 748-6000; fax (201) 748-6088; http://www.wiley.com; 234 pages; $39.95; ISBN 978-0-471-71527-6.
