Using financial resources effectively and efficiently is one of the greatest challenges facing development organisations in the North and the South today.
Growing concerns about cost-effectiveness, decreasing development funds and demands for transparency and accountability call for professional financial management practices. Sound financial management is needed to achieve organizational sustainability and financial self-reliance. An increasing recognition of the necessity to be transparent and to be able to account for funds to different donors, project beneficiaries and to the public, calls for appropriate systems.
With shrinking resources for development in many sectors and countries, the expectations increase for organisations in the global South to diversify funding sources. Particularly in middle-income countries the demand increases to raise more local funds. These can be private donations, government schemes and social enterprises.
The consultancy approach of FAKT aims at integrating participatory project management systems with financial management systems. In our view the financial management cycle is comprised of objectives, budgeting, accounting, monitoring, reporting, decision-making and action.
Our services
- Workshops and training: FAKT offers facilitation and the design of workshops and training courses on topics like: Financial reporting standards of donors, accountability and financial transparency, international fund-accounting principles for NGOs, financial management strategies for self-reliance, and improved fund-raising.
- Coaching: We also offer coaching for development professionals who seek assistance in improving their own performance or relationships with partners in development co-operation. These interventions aim at improving operating effectiveness and help individuals to acquire new knowledge and skills required by the changing demands of their jobs.
- Evaluations: We have developed methods for external and assisted self-evaluations of financial management and internal control systems of development organisations.
- Financial analysis: Assessment of financial management systems and cost benefit analysis of projects can be provided as part of an evaluation, feasibility study, or may form the basis for expert advice.
- Expert advice: Our expert advice for development organisations is based on hard data from a financial analysis carried out with a holistic approach for improving financial management systems. Furthermore, we assist development organisations in the global South in their efforts to develop their own financial strategies and systems, which are geared towards organizational sustainability and financial self-reliance.
