Financial risk #2 labour relations act and fixed-term contracts
Labour relations act and fixed-term contracts With all the uncertainties around funding, many non-profit organisations use fixed-term employment contracts to manage the risk of entering into long-term salary commitments that may not be matched by funding. It is therefore important to note that one of the most important changes to the Labour Relations Act (the Act), which came […]
Taking a bite out of the year-end bonus
Taking a bite out of the year-end bonus Tax on annual bonuses remains a great source of misunderstanding. We have had a number of unhappy/upset payroll clients approaching us recently because they feel too much tax has been deducted from their annual bonus! This newsletter explains why this appears to be the case and what […]
Top tips for preparing proposal budgets
Top tips for preparing proposal budgets Ensure that the full, realistic costs of the project are included in the budget, including the staff and support (overhead) costs Projects are generally carried out within the context of an established organisation, with all its necessary infrastructure and systems. It is therefore right that the funding for each project also […]
Financial risk #3 many NPO’s are vulnerable to payment fraud
Many NPO’s are vulnerable to payment fraud In this financial risk alert, we share some insights that may help you to reduce the risk of such fraud happening in your organisation. Who releases your internet banking payments (EFT’s)? We still find that many NPO’s have only one person releasing EFT payments through their internet banking […]
Financial risk # 4 essential finance roles
Essential finance roles Do you have the right mix of skills and experience in your finance function? We are often asked to try to assess whether an organisation has proper capacity in its finance team (both in terms of the time required and the skills/knowledge needed for all the relevant tasks). In “Financial Leadership: Guiding Your […]
Financial risk #5 – do you know who you are paying through internet banking?
Are you sure who you are paying? Do you know who you are paying through internet banking? The signatories who released payments at one organisation thought they were paying SARS – after all, when they looked at the bank account name on their internet banking system, it read “SARS”. However, many months later, they found […]
Financial risk # 6 – failure to comply with the terms and conditions of funding contracts
Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of funding contracts We have recently witnessed the good, the bad and the extremely ugly when it comes to meeting (or not meeting as the case may be) the terms and conditions of funding contracts! Although funding contracts may be many pages long and full of “legalese”, […]
Financial risk # 7- preparing budgets for funding applications
Preparing budgets for funding applications Over our many years in the sector, we have witnessed lots of organisations tying themselves in knots while trying to report on funds spent in line with the relevant funding contracts. This highlights the fact that serious consequences could arise if you submit a budget to a potential funder that […]
Financial risk # 8 – covering your overheads
Covering your overheads! Many of you will have seen that, after a 2-year transition period, the Ford Foundation is now focussing on combatting inequality, which is acknowledged as the greatest impediment to just, fair, and peaceful societies. What you may have missed, however, in the statement issued by the Foundation’s President, Darren Walker, is that […]
How an employer instantly added 9,181 employees to its workforce
How an employer instantly added 9,181 employees to its workforce Are your volunteers/independent contractors actually employees? The case: In a Labour Court case with considerable significance for the non-profit sector, Acting Judge P Benjamin has ruled that community health workers (“CHW’s”) engaged by the Gauteng Department of Health (“GDoH”) on fixed term contracts are employees […]
