This two hour seminar is geared toward existing and aspiring General Managers / Executive Directors and Board Members to help ground them in the technical skills required to support financial responsibilities. It will include an introduction to the two essential financial statements: the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement. It will also introduce participants to the concept and mechanics of double entry bookkeeping, the process that yields the financial statements required for sound decision making. Participants will work with the session leaders on developing a case study, walking through the start up year of a small not-for-profit, examining transactions and the need for statements and reports. Along the way we will consider matters such as: revenue generation from earned, fundraised, and government sources, dealing with expenses (cash vs. credit and the contracts/leases that govern multiple transactions); the importance of documentation; and the role of authorization (e.g. who signs cheques and contracts). The goal of the seminar is to assist participants in building on common sense and practical not-for-profit experience as the grounds for discussing technical aspects of accounting and thereby integrating the 'hard skills' into daily practice and financial management.

]]> There are only so many hours in the day, and for most small to mid-sized organizations with limited staffing, working in the database often gets pushed to the bottom of the list until the crunch is on. In this session we'll explore tips and tricks for doing preliminary work that will make quick work of populating your database, and discuss ways to keep database management in the mix of your regular tasks, seamlessly integrating it into your workflow. Keep your data up-to-date so you always have access to the information you need to more your organization forward. This is an instructional seminar that will include case studies and a take away tipsheet.

]]> What is a database? What do I want to get out of it? What data is relevant? How can I create consistency? This 2 hour seminar from Young Associates is designed to provide an overview of good database management practices for the arts and cultural sector. The seminar will cover goal setting, policies and procedures, and tips and tricks, and is geared to those working in both a spreadsheet or relational database environment.

]]> Hands-on work supported by individual coaching is at the heart of this 2-hour workshop. We will begin with a presentation on cashflow principles and techniques, including: the financial contents; timing issues involved in working with last year, this year and next year items; essential control and reconciliation features; and a discussion of how much detail is desirable. We will walk through a paper example, and then participants will take it away to build their own cashflow based on the model, incorporating various formatting ideas, formulas and functions (including SUM, IF, and ROUND). Participants can use this opportunity (and our coaching resources) to develop their company’s budget, or they can work with our sample data. Bring your laptop and roll up your sleeves! Participants should be comfortable with Excel basics and the functions mentioned in this description

]]> This 2-part workshop, focused on hands-on work supported by individual coaching, begins with a presentation on planning and reporting principles and a review of simple and complex budgeting templates, leading to the creation of a detailed budget document incorporating: Excel formatting techniques, multiple periods of data, formulas and functions (financial ratios, SUM, ROUND and more), and linked worksheets (reasonability calculations, detail and summary presentations). Participants can use this opportunity (and our coaching resources) to develop their company’s budget, or they can work with our sample data. Bring your laptop and expect to sink your teeth into spreadsheet creation! Participants should be comfortable with Excel basics and the functions mentioned in this description.

]]> Populating your database with good, clean data can be the key to reaching your fundraising and marketing goals, but is often the part of the process we put off doing or give to the interns. Stop putting it off today and learn how to efficiently and effectively populate your database, manually and through data uploads, and get your new and existing data out of spreadsheets and into your database management software. After an instructional section and guided exercises, you'll leave feeling more confident in your Sumac abilities and able to get your data working for you. Bring your laptop with the sample Sumac database ready to go.

]]> Take your Excel skills to the next level with this 2-part workshop on managing documents. In the first part of the workshop, learn invaluable techniques for managing data inside cells; simultaneously formatting non-adjacent cells; opening multiple workspaces in a single Excel file; creating series’ with numbers, formulas and dates; adding, hiding, revealing and printing comments; controlling the appearance of printed documents, and more. In the second part of the 2-part workshop, learn how to build templates and design in Excel to meet your visual needs. Create stunning reports to share with your staff, board and funders. Format, link and merge information easily into your template and save time and stress when updating your reports. This session will include a guided exercise that will allow you to walk away with the tools you need! A legend will be provided for both PC and Mac shortcuts.

]]> Whether you're new to Excel or feel like you aren't using it to its full potential, this seminar is for you! Learn your way around Excel in this introductory course split into two sessions. The seminar will cover the essentials of navigation, and working on-screen with text, numbers and formulas. Increase your flexibility by learning both keyboard and mouse shortcuts for essential tasks. An examination of basic arithmetic operations and the SUM function prepares you for working with a take-away budget worksheet. This course is geared towards MAC users, and will include a mix of instructional information, opportunity for questions & answers, and a chance to work through guided exercises.

]]> Whether you're new to Excel or feel like you aren't using it to its full potential, this seminar is for you! Learn your way around Excel during this introductory course split into two sessions. The seminar will cover the essentials of navigation, and working on-screen with text, numbers and formulas. Increase your flexibility by learning both keyboard and mouse shortcuts for essential tasks. An examination of basic arithmetic operations and the SUM function will prepare you for working with a take-away budget worksheet. This course is geared towards PC users, and will include a mix of instructional information, opportunity for questions & answers, and a chance to work through guided exercises.

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