How to Read a Nonprofit Financial Statement

A MindEdge courseAccess Time: 30 days

This course will develop your ability to appropriately interpret the major financial accounting statements that are used by nonprofit organizations. Ideally, you will gain an understanding of the types of financial statements that are used by nonprofit organizations, and how they differ from for-profit financial reporting. Also, you should gain an appreciation of both the power and limitations of accounting information in assessing financial performance and decision-making. You will also learn the uses of financial statement analysis, or ratio analysis for nonprofit organizations.

After completing this course, you'll be able to:

• Identify and describe the documents and financial statements included in a nonprofit organization's financial report
• Analyze the information found in nonprofit statements of financial positions
• Analyze the information found in the statement of activities
• Analyze the information found in the statement of cash flows
• Describe the nature of business enterprises and nonprofit organizations, as reflected by the statement of financial position
• Define financial (ratio) analysis and explain its objectives and limitations
• Identify the various categories of financial ratios used in nonprofit analyses
• Define and calculate the ratios within each category

Target Audience: This course is designed for adult learners involved or interested in nonprofit financial management.

Level: Introductory/No Prerequisites

Estimated time to complete: 3-5 hours

Ask the Expert: This course has an "Ask the Expert" feature, which submits your questions directly to an expert in the field you are studying. Questions are answered as quickly as possible and usually within 24 hours.

Required Material: This course does not require any additional purchases of supplementary materials.

Successful Completion Requirement for IACET CEU: Learners must achieve an average test score of at least 70% to meet the minimum successful completion requirement and qualify to receive IACET CEU credit. Learners will have three attempts at all graded assessments.