August 18, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Bookkeeping for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide to Nonprofit Accounting
by Murray Dropkin and James Halpin
As regulation and scrutiny of nonprofit groups continue to intensify, organizations that aren’t practiced in bookkeeping and accounting could find themselves in legal trouble. This book, written by accountants who specialize in nonprofit finances, introduces bookkeepers, managers, and board members to the tools they need to create and maintain accurate financial records.
Murray Dropkin and James Halpin use their expertise as co-editors of Nonprofit Report, a newsletter on accounting and management, to describe how the work of charity bookkeepers differs from that of their counterparts in the for-profit world. They translate fundamental bookkeeping terminology and concepts such as income and expense tracking.
The authors walk readers through the basics of recording all kinds of financial transactions, and discuss how transactions can be used to monitor an organization’s financial situation. They introduce different record-keeping systems and provide the reader with advice for choosing among them.
Mr. Dropkin and Mr. Halpin also elucidate how boards and managers can use bookkeeping to budget their money and ensure the charity’s financial well-being. And they encourage bookkeepers to do more than just follow policies and procedures: By “seeing the big picture,” they say, bookkeepers can assist the organization in improving its operations and heightening its impact.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (317) 572-3986 or (800) 956-7739; fax (317) 572-4002; http://www.josseybass.com; 236 pages; $30; ISBN 0-7879-7540-0.
