Produce the two reports that tell you almost everything about your financial health, and, just as important, learn to read them in plain terms. Numbers you cannot read do not help you.
After your books are current, in See Your True Financial Position. Produce both statements, then read each with the questions below.
Sometimes called the statement of financial position or the balance sheet. It shows everything you own (cash, money owed to you, property), everything you owe (bills, loans), and the difference, which is your net worth as an organization.
Sometimes called the statement of activities or the income statement. It shows your income and spending across the year so far, and whether you ran a surplus or a shortfall.
A plain-language caution: the first statement is a photograph of this moment, the second is a film of the year. You need both, because you can look healthy in one and be in trouble in the other: profitable on the year yet out of cash today, or flush with cash today that is all spoken for.
If your statements do not balance, show something you cannot explain, or need to meet a formal reporting standard for a funder or an audit, that is a nonprofit accountant's work. Reading them is yours; certifying them is theirs.
Follows the Books-Current Checklist. Feeds the Financial Dashboard Builder and the Board Financial Reporting Pack.
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