Accurate, on-time financial statements only matter if people read and use them. In Part 2 of JMT's webinar "Are Your Financial Reports Being Ignored?", a panel of nonprofit finance leaders shared how they build nonprofit financial literacy across boards and program staff, one short conversation at a time.
Buu-Linh Tran, CPA, SVP of Financial Solutions at JMT, moderated a discussion with Joanne Duncan of JM Duncan Consulting, Michael Gelman, CPA, CGMA, of Fiscal Strategies 4 Nonprofits, and Sam Gaillard, CPA, CFO and COO of CWI Works. Part 1 covered what belongs in the reports themselves; see the Part 1 recap on building a nonprofit financial reporting package and our article Are your financial reports being ignored? for that framework. Part 2 focused on the people who receive the reports.
The short version
- When board members don't read the numbers, they lean on the treasurer. A presentation that tells a clear story lets the whole board share that load.
- Nonprofit financial literacy grows through small, regular moments: a 10-minute explanation in a meeting, a walk down the hall, one simple KPI with a trend line.
- Finance earns trust by helping, not policing. As Sam Gaillard put it, "don't become a CF no."
- Forecasts should be started by finance and finished by program leaders, who know what is coming. Look 12 to 24 months out, not just to year-end.
- Dashboards should change as needs change, while GAAP statements stay stable. AI can help people ask questions in plain English, with a data policy in place first.
Why boards lean on the treasurer instead of the numbers
Buu-Linh opened with a comment she hears from CFOs: the financials go out, but no one knows if anyone is looking at them. Joanne Duncan pointed to the treasurer. Board members who don't read the numbers rely on the treasurer to do it for them, which is one reason some board members avoid taking the role.
Her answer is a presentation that tells a story the whole board can follow. Finance usually comes early on the agenda, so the financials can become the baseline for every decision that follows in the meeting. Sam Gaillard agreed that storytelling is the key.
"Somehow, some way, you need to figure out how to stimulate a conversation with that group of people, or with that particular person, in order for them to understand what the story is and how to use that information."
Sam Gaillard, CPA, CFO and COO, CWI WorksMichael Gelman added why it matters: finance is part of nearly every conversation in an organization, because almost every decision has a financial impact and an effect on sustainability.
Three barriers that keep reports unread
The panel worked through three chokepoints from the webinar's diagnostic framework and what they do about each one.
| Barrier | What it looks like | What the panel does |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Lost portal credentials, too many attachments, a busy treasurer who never opens the file. | Ask how each person likes to receive the report. Send one dashboard first, not eight reports. Schedule reports to go out automatically. |
| Comprehension | Dense, GAAP-heavy statements that people outside finance struggle to read. | Teach in short, regular moments. Use charts and plain English. Add one simple KPI with a trend. |
| Use | Backward-looking numbers that don't answer "how does this help me?" | Show each reader a projection of the KPI they care about most, and let program leaders help shape the forecast. |
How to build nonprofit financial literacy in everyday work
The panel agreed that financial education works best when it is small, frequent, and personal, not a lecture at budget time.
- 1
Use 10-minute meeting bites
Joanne sits down with department heads throughout the year, not just at budget or month-end, to walk through their numbers and ask what finance can do to make their jobs easier.
- 2
Add one simple KPI with a trend
Joanne adds a basic metric, such as revenue buckets compared to total revenue over time. Before long, people start asking about ratios on their own.
- 3
Go to them
Sam made a habit of walking the office instead of waiting for questions, so finance became a regular part of each team's work cycle.
- 4
Explain good news, too
Michael recalled a new CEO alarmed by a jump in liabilities. It was deferred revenue from event registrations, and a quiet explanation turned it into a lesson.
Sam added the reason it matters: "if you don't know the operations, you can't be helpful," and "the way that you learn the operations is through the metrics."
The department head who wouldn't share the numbers
Early in one CFO role, Joanne was invited to a team meeting for a large revenue-generating department. The papers went around the table, but the department head would not hand the financials to her. A previous CFO had treated every review as a confrontation about missed numbers.
Joanne followed up one-on-one and started meeting with the department head regularly, building reports that did more than flag over-budget lines.
"How do I help her trust me in the finance side of this, right? Because we're in this together. We're all on the same side of the table here. We're playing for the same team."
Joanne Duncan, Principal, JM Duncan ConsultingJoanne said it was a hard lesson, and one she has kept for a long time.
KPIs the panel mentioned
The panel named a few simple metrics that help people outside finance connect the numbers to operations.
- Revenue by source vs. total revenue
- Number of donors
- Salaries and benefits vs. total expenses
- Cost per person served
- Grant realization
Michael warned that the bigger mistake is KPIs no one revisits. GAAP statements stay the same, but KPIs "should be changing as circumstances change." Sam said engagement comes from a projection of the one KPI each reader cares about most: when it moves in an unexpected direction, they know it is a clue to what is happening operationally, and they start talking to their colleagues.
What finance teams told us
When asked why management, staff, and board members ignore or skim financial reports, attendees' answers were spread across access, comprehension, perceived value, and role confusion. Michael's take: "all of the above."
When asked how they deliver routine financial information to people outside finance, most attendees said they still send traditional PDF or Excel statements focused on past results.
Let program leaders finish the forecast
Michael said the forward-looking forecast should not come out of the finance department alone, "because we're not doing the programs in the field." Sam's approach: "you might have to start it, but you don't finish it."
- Start the draft and leave holes. Sam leaves gaps for program leaders to fill in based on what they see in operations.
- Look past year-end. Buu-Linh sees many projections stop at fiscal year-end. Look 12 months ahead, or 24 if you can.
- Key off two or three assumptions. Michael said longer projections usually turn on two or three assumptions, most often around funding.
- Include cash. Joanne recommends a rolling cash projection, ideally 18 months, especially with cyclical revenue and steady monthly expenses.
- Plan for capacity. Unexpected funding, including large one-time gifts, can strain staff and systems. A rolling forecast gives time to add resources.
Sam's organization is moving to an 18 to 24 month projection for the first time. When colleagues asked how to project what they don't know, his answer was assumptions: "your guesses could be off, but that's why they call it managing, right? That's why they call it leading."
Don't become a "CF no"
Sam learned the phrase early in his CFO career. When the numbers look bad, the next question is how finance can help fix them. When they look good, it's whether anyone has looked out on the horizon. People share plans with a finance partner they trust, and those plans are what make a projection accurate.
Dashboards, AI, and a data policy first
Michael said there is no perfect dashboard, because every organization and every reader is different. GAAP statements should stay stable; dashboards are where you tailor the story, and their format can and should change over time. Joanne added that finance teams should keep checking whether their dashboards are still meaningful, and ask for chances to build presentation skills.
Buu-Linh said AI in ERP systems is still new but changing how people use them. Leaders will be able to ask questions about their financials in plain English and ask follow-ups until the answer makes sense. Michael added that systems and AI help break an old habit of sending one report to everybody. Building separate versions for the board, the C-suite, and a program manager used to take triple the time; now it leaves more time to think about the reader.
Sam raised the risk side. Before pulling financial data into plain-language tools, make sure your organization has a policy and the right roles and permissions in place. Buu-Linh added that consistency matters too: the same question should return the same answer.
Final takeaways from the panel
"We have to look at ourselves and look at the materials that are being presented regularly to make sure they're meaningful."
Joanne Duncan
"Dashboards can change, the format can change and should change over time. And the GAAP financial statement should stay stable in that format."
Michael Gelman
"You become a regular person in their work cycle. So they start to expect you to ask the question."
Sam Gaillard
About the speakers
- Buu-Linh Tran, CPASVP of Financial Solutions, JMT Consulting (moderator)
- Joanne DuncanPrincipal, JM Duncan Consulting
- Michael Gelman, CPA, CGMAFounder, Fiscal Strategies 4 Nonprofits, LLC and Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits
- Sam Gaillard, CPACFO and COO, CWI Works
Quotes are lightly edited for readability.
Nonprofit financial literacy FAQs
What is nonprofit financial literacy, and who needs it?
It is the ability of people outside finance, including board members, executive directors, and program managers, to read financial information and use it to make decisions. The panel said finance teams share responsibility for building it, because accurate reports have little value if the people receiving them can't interpret them.
How can a finance team teach financial concepts without it feeling like a lecture?
Keep it short and regular. The panel recommended 10-minute explanations inside existing meetings, informal check-ins with each department throughout the year, plain-English terms, and one simple KPI with a trend line rather than a page of ratios.
Who should own a nonprofit's forecast?
Finance can start the forecast, but program leaders should help finish it, because they know what is coming in their programs. Sam Gaillard leaves gaps in the draft for program staff to fill in, which builds ownership and makes the projection more accurate.
How far out should a nonprofit rolling forecast go?
Past fiscal year-end. Buu-Linh Tran recommended at least 12 months ahead, and 24 if possible. Joanne Duncan suggested about 18 months for cash, and Michael Gelman said longer projections usually turn on two or three key assumptions, most often around funding.
Who should send quarterly financials to lenders and banks?
The panel was split. Joanne Duncan and Michael Gelman favored the CFO, or at least CFO review. Sam Gaillard prefers the controller or director of finance send the report, with the CFO following up on anything unusual, so more than one person holds the lender relationship.
What should a nonprofit consider before using AI to explain financial data?
Put a policy in place first. Sam Gaillard said organizations should set roles and permissions so internal data isn't exposed by accident, and Buu-Linh Tran said to check that the same question returns a consistent answer.
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