Not for Profit Accounting

Leadership The readings this past week covered some different concepts. The Cnaan readings encompassed the topic of community elites and power structure, but Rikki Abzug, which provided an overview of the mid-20th century sociological thought on the concept of elites. First is was noted that there is an elite hypothesis, wherein "professional or political players were setting policy" in our communities, rather than having policy achieved through pluralist decision-making.

The core of this idea is that a handful of bodies -- major corporations, the military and major political bodies are ruling the country, in contrast to "religious, educational and family institutions" -- I guess the implication is that the current state is worse than having those institutions run by similar powerbrokers in charge of things. So the readings look at the study of power structures in the community, and why this study has died out.

The reading is basically a meta-analysis of the research, and questioning why this form of study has died out when the reality is that the same elites are still running the country. Taylor's article focuses on community leadership, in particular on the use of social capital to gain influence in the community. This idea serves as a counterpoint to the elites ruling communities by providing an understanding of how communities can organize for themselves.

Taylor provides an interesting overview of the different approaches to managing a community, along with their corresponding models of democracy, vehicles for solutions and the role of community practice. Knowing how power works in a community provides for better opportunities to counter the power of elites, for example,. The other readings highlight some issues in accounting for not-for-profit entities. Chapter 18 provides an overview of financial reporting -- by function or by groups.

There is also an outline of the specific issues that a number of different types of not-for-profit organizations will face in their accounting, and how to handle each of these in turn. Issues like different types of accounting such as cash basis are covered here. Accounting for churches, museums, performing arts foundations, clubs and private foundations is all provided. Chapter 20 highlights budgeting, and the issues that surround that process for not-for-profit organizations. The budget is basically a plan of action and the financial pathway for getting to the objective.

There are different ways to prepare a budget, and these are outlined in the reading. Cash flow is a major issue, so critical concepts with respect to revenues, strategic reserves and monthly/quarterly budgets are all covered. The issue of responsibility is also discussed -- senior management may make strategic decisions but somebody familiar with accounting needs to be in charge of the budget. Budgets are also used as a control mechanism, which is important to remember, because that highlights the need for a.