NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
ROBERT F. WAGNER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE
P11.2142.001
Financial Management for
Nonprofit Organizations
Fall 2010
Tuesday – 4:55 PM to 6:35 PM
Class Location: Silver 704
Edward Sermier
152 East 94 Street (# 12A)
New York, NY 10128
Tel #: 212-534-7186
Cell#: 917-620-4393
E-Mail: esermier@verizon.net
Notes: There will NOT be class sessions on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 and Wednesday,
September 15, 2010. On September 22, 2010, there will be a double session from 4:55PM to 8:25PM.
This session will be held in Pless Hall – 3rd Floor Conference Room. Pless Hall is located in the
Steinhardt School of Education, 82 Washington Square East, corner of Washington Place.
Course Description
This course will examine financial management in various types of nonprofit organizations, e.g. social
service agencies, cultural institutions. Discussions of financial management will involve the policies and
procedures of accounting, budgeting and financial planning. These disciplines will be related to the larger
issues of overall mission, strategy and program objectives of nonprofit organizations. Most sessions will
focus on the assigned readings and the application of these readings to practical case studies in nonprofit
organizations. The case studies will be taken from the Kennedy School of Govt., Harvard University and
from cases written by the instructor from his thirty-five (35) years of experience with non-profit
organizations and government agencies. The instructor will also demonstrate various financial tools that he
has developed to enable non-financial executives and board members to more easily use financial
information to make better management decisions.
Course Organization
The course will have three parts. Part One will briefly explore accounting financial statements. The
material presented and discussed will supplement students’ existing knowledge gained through the prior
courses (P11.1021.0 – Financial Management and P11-4130 – Financial Accounting). Part Two will
examine budgeting policies and practices. Again, the material presented and discussed will supplement
students’ existing knowledge gained through the prior course (P11.1021.0 – Financial Management).
Part Three will review various methods of financial analyses used in nonprofit organizations.
Student Requirements
Attendance will be taken at each session. If a student expects to be late or absent from a session, s/he
should notify the instructor before the session begins.
The case study method of instruction requires students to be well prepared for each class discussion. Proper
case preparation ensures that each student will be actively engaged in the classroom discussions that occur
among students and between the students and the instructor. Students will also be expected to complete an
assignment (s) or case (s) for the majority of sessions.
Grading
Assignments To be Completed ( 6 )
and Classroom Participation
20 %
Cases ( 8 )
80 %
1
Note: Please carefully check the listings on Blackboard and bring the appropriate assignments, cases,
and course documents to each class.
Required Book
1.Dropkin, Halpin & LaTouche, The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits (John Wiley & Sons, 2007)
Optional Book (Used in Prerequisite Course – P11.1021 – Financial Management)
1. Steven Finkler, Financial Management for Public, Health, and Not-for-Profit Organizations
(Any Edition)
Statement On Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism
and collusion in dishonest acts undermine Wagner’s educational mission and the students’
personal and intellectual growth. If you study together, which is often useful, please be careful to
write your own answers to assignments and cases. Wagner students are expected to bear individual
responsibility for their work, and to uphold the ideal of academic integrity. Any student who attempts to
compromise or devalue the academic process will be reported to appropriate authorities and subject to
disciplinary action.
SYLLABUS
Session
1
Date
09/08 (Wed)
Content
No Class
2
09/15 (Wed)
No Class
3
09/22 (Wed)
(Double Session)
4
09/29 (Wed)
Introduction to the Course; “Stakeholder Analysis”;
Sample Case Study: ‘Run-Out Concert”;
Finance and Management in Nonprofit Organizations
Finance in International Nonprofit Organizations
Guest Lecture: Dr. Dall Forsythe
2
PART ONE – ACCOUNTING (BRIEF REVIEW)
Session
5
Date
10/06 (Wed)
Content
Understanding Financial Statements
Reading: Herzlinger & Nitterhouse (Chapters 3 and 4)
(Posted on Blackboard)
Reading: New York Philharmonic Financial Statements
(Posted on Blackboard)
Optional Reading: Finkler (Chapters 8 / 9 / 10)
Assignment # 1 (To Be Completed and Given to Instructor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
6
10/13 (Wed)
Analyzing Financial Statements
Reading: “Optional Financial Diagnostic”
(Posted on Blackboard)
Optional Reading: Finkler (Chapters 12 and 13)
Assignment # 2 (To Be Completed and Given to Instructor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
Assignment # 3 (To Be Completed and Given to Instructor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
PART TWO (BUDGETING)
7
10/20 (Wed)
Budgeting Concepts (Preparation and Monitoring)
Cash Flow Forecasting (Part One)
Reading: Dropkin, Halpin & LaTouche, The Budget-Building Book for
Nonprofits
Optional Reading: Finkler (Chapters 2 and 3)
Assignment # 4 (To Be Completed and Given to Instructor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
3
Session
Date
Content
8
10/27 (Wed)
Cash Flow Forecasting (Part Two)
Endowment Management
Reading: Forsythe, Endowment Management: A Strategic Review
(Posted on Blackboard)
Reading: Jones Foundation (WORD File and EXCEL File)
(Posted on Blackboard)
Assignment # 5 (To Be Completed and Given to Professor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
9
11/03 (Wed)
Budgeting (Management and Practices)
Reading: Working Effectively with a Board of Directors
(Posted on Blackboard)
Case # 1 : The Theatre Budget ( 10 % of Final Grade)
(Posted on Blackboard)
PART THREE (FINANCIAL ANALYSIS)
10
11/10 (Wed)
Financial Modeling for Decision-Making
(All Materials Posted on Blackboard)
Practice Case: “A Summer Tour”
(Posted on Blackboard)
Optional Reading: Finkler (Chapter 4)
Assignment # 6 (To Be Completed and Given to Professor)
(Posted on Blackboard)
11
11/17 (Wed)
“Good Financial Analysis Leads To Better Program Decisions”
(Part One – Three Cases – Posted on Blackboard)
Case # 2
“CD Project”
( 5 % of Final Grade)
Case # 3
“LC Summer Festival”
(10 % of Final Grade)
Case # 4
“Baruch Chamber Tour”
( 5 % of Final Grade)
4
Session
12
Date
Content
11/24 (Wed)
“Good Financial Analysis Leads To Better Program Decisions”
(Part Two – Two Cases – Posted on Blackboard)
Reading: “Common Themes for Financial Analysis”
(Posted on Blackboard)
Reading: “Quarterly Financial Reporting System”
(Posted on Blackboard)
13
12/01 (Wed)
Case # 5
“Millenium Night Concert”
Case # 6
“Baruch Museum of Teaching” ( 5 % of Final Grade)
( 5 % of Final Grade)
Privatization / Contracting Out / Competition
Case # 7 – Trash Collection in Lone Pine ( 15 % of Final Grade)
(Case to be Distributed to Students at Session # 11)
(Case questions posted on Blackboard)
14
12/07 (Tues)
Accounting / Budgeting / Financial Analysis
Case # 8 – The Jedediah Clark House Inc. ( 25 % of Final Grade)
(Posted on Blackboard)
15
12/15 (Wed)
To Be Determined
(Based on Prior Discussions with Students, e.g. are there any other
topics that students want discussed OR are there prior topics to
be reviewed in greater detail?)
5
6