Course Introduction
The Charity and Non-Profit Financial Auditing Training Course provides a practical framework for auditing the financial activities, governance arrangements, internal controls, funding structures, and financial reporting of charities, foundations, NGOs, associations, humanitarian organizations, community organizations, and other non-profit entities. The course focuses on donor accountability, restricted funds, grant expenditure, program costs, fundraising income, financial stewardship, and transparency.
The course examines the complete non-profit financial lifecycle, from fundraising, donations, grants, and funding agreements through budgeting, program implementation, procurement, payroll, disbursements, beneficiary support, financial reporting, and donor accountability. Participants learn how to assess whether funds are used for authorized purposes and whether transactions are properly supported, approved, recorded, reconciled, and reported.
Particular emphasis is placed on donor and grant financial management. Participants examine restricted and unrestricted funding, grant budgets, eligible expenditure, cost allocations, advances, sub-grants, implementing partners, donor reporting, matching requirements, and grant close-out. They learn how to reconcile grant records with accounting systems and identify unsupported expenditure, incorrect allocations, unspent balances, ineligible costs, and weaknesses in grant controls.
The training also addresses core operating expenditure, including payroll, procurement, consultants, travel, program supplies, vehicles, equipment, facilities, cash transfers, and beneficiary-related expenditure. Participants develop practical audit skills for evaluating procurement transactions, supplier payments, payroll records, expense claims, project costs, assets, and supporting documentation while identifying waste, fraud, conflicts of interest, duplicate payments, and financial leakage.
Modern charities and non-profit organizations increasingly depend on digital fundraising platforms, online donations, mobile payments, cloud accounting systems, grant management platforms, electronic procurement, digital beneficiary databases, and data analytics. The course therefore incorporates technology-enabled auditing, cybersecurity, access controls, data integrity, automated controls, artificial intelligence, digital payment risks, and analytics for continuous financial monitoring.
Through practical exercises and case studies, participants develop the ability to audit non-profit finances from funding receipt and grant management through program expenditure, procurement, payroll, beneficiary payments, financial reporting, donor reporting, and audit follow-up. The course emphasizes risk-based auditing, substantive testing, analytical procedures, reconciliations, fraud-risk assessment, professional skepticism, evidence evaluation, and practical recommendations that strengthen accountability and ensure resources are used effectively for intended purposes.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Internal auditors working in charities, NGOs, foundations, associations, and other non-profit organizations.
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External auditors responsible for non-profit financial statements, donor funds, grants, and program expenditure.
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Finance directors, finance managers, controllers, and accountants working in non-profit organizations.
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Grant finance managers responsible for donor-funded programs and grant financial reporting.
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Program managers responsible for budgets, implementation expenditure, and financial accountability.
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Donor compliance and grants management professionals monitoring funding conditions and eligible expenditure.
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Internal control and risk professionals assessing financial, operational, fraud, and compliance risks.
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Procurement professionals responsible for suppliers, contractors, tendering, and non-profit expenditure.
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Project accountants managing grant-funded projects, restricted funds, and program budgets.
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Treasury professionals responsible for cash, bank accounts, transfers, foreign currency, and liquidity.
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Fraud investigators examining misuse of donor funds, procurement fraud, false claims, and financial misconduct.
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Monitoring and evaluation professionals seeking stronger understanding of financial accountability and program expenditure.
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Information technology auditors reviewing accounting systems, digital fundraising platforms, and financial data controls.
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Data analysts supporting grant monitoring, transaction testing, anomaly detection, and continuous auditing.
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Trustees, board members, and governance professionals responsible for financial oversight and stewardship of non-profit resources.
Course Objectives
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Develop a comprehensive understanding of non-profit financial structures, funding models, governance arrangements, internal controls, and audit risks.
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Audit donations, grants, fundraising income, restricted funds, unrestricted funds, membership income, and other non-profit revenue streams.
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Evaluate grant budgets, funding agreements, eligible expenditure, cost allocations, advances, sub-grants, and donor reporting requirements.
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Apply substantive audit procedures to program expenditure, procurement, payroll, travel, consultants, supplies, assets, and beneficiary-related transactions.
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Assess whether restricted and donor funds are used for authorized purposes and properly classified, allocated, reconciled, and reported.
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Evaluate procurement, supplier selection, payment controls, expense claims, cash management, bank reconciliations, and financial authorization processes.
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Identify fraud risks involving donor funds, procurement, payroll, beneficiary payments, cash transfers, fundraising, conflicts of interest, and management override.
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Apply data analytics and technology-assisted auditing to grants, transactions, suppliers, employees, beneficiaries, payments, and financial reporting data.
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Strengthen non-profit financial reporting through analytical review, reconciliations, budget variance analysis, donor reporting validation, and evidence evaluation.
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Develop practical audit findings and recommendations that improve donor accountability, financial stewardship, compliance, fraud prevention, and organizational sustainability.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Charity and Non-Profit Financial Auditing Fundamentals
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Understanding charity, NGO, foundation, humanitarian, association, and other non-profit financial structures and operating models.
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Mapping the non-profit financial lifecycle from fundraising and grant receipt through program expenditure, reporting, and close-out.
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Identifying financial, donor, compliance, operational, fraud, governance, and reporting risks across non-profit activities.
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Developing a risk-based audit strategy based on funding sources, donor requirements, program significance, expenditure levels, and control maturity.
Module 2: Donations, Fundraising, Grants, and Restricted Funds
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Auditing donations, fundraising income, grants, sponsorships, membership contributions, gifts, and other sources of non-profit funding.
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Evaluating funding agreements, donor restrictions, grant conditions, approved budgets, reporting requirements, and permitted uses of funds.
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Testing restricted and unrestricted fund accounting, income recognition, fund transfers, deferred funding, and allocation procedures.
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Reconciling donor records, fundraising platforms, bank receipts, grant schedules, accounting records, and financial statements.
Module 3: Grant Financial Management and Donor Compliance
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Auditing grant budgets, expenditure eligibility, budget amendments, cost categories, indirect costs, matching requirements, and donor conditions.
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Testing grant-funded transactions against approved budgets, supporting documentation, authorization requirements, and program objectives.
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Evaluating grant advances, implementing partners, sub-grants, partner reporting, liquidation of advances, and recovery of unsupported expenditure.
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Reviewing donor financial reports, grant reconciliations, expenditure schedules, variance explanations, and grant close-out procedures.
Module 4: Program Expenditure, Procurement, and Supplier Auditing
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Auditing procurement of goods and services used in humanitarian, development, community, education, health, and other non-profit programs.
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Evaluating procurement planning, competitive sourcing, supplier selection, purchase orders, receiving, invoices, approvals, and payments.
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Testing consultants, contractors, professional services, program supplies, logistics, transportation, and other project-related expenditure.
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Identifying fictitious suppliers, inflated prices, duplicate invoices, conflicts of interest, split purchases, unsupported expenditure, and procurement irregularities.
Module 5: Payroll, Personnel, Travel, and Operating Expenditure
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Auditing salaries, benefits, allowances, consultants, temporary personnel, payroll taxes, staff advances, and other employee-related expenditure.
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Testing employee master data, contracts, attendance, timesheets, payroll calculations, approvals, bank payments, and personnel reconciliations.
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Evaluating travel, accommodation, per diem, field expenses, vehicle costs, communications, office expenses, and other operating expenditure.
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Identifying ghost employees, unsupported claims, duplicate reimbursements, excessive allowances, unauthorized overtime, and expense manipulation.
Module 6: Cash, Banking, Transfers, and Beneficiary Payments
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Auditing cash holdings, bank accounts, electronic transfers, mobile payments, cash advances, petty cash, and project-level financial transactions.
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Testing bank reconciliations, payment authorization, segregation of duties, cash counts, transfer controls, and payment documentation.
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Evaluating beneficiary payments, cash-transfer programs, emergency disbursements, distribution records, and recipient verification procedures.
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Identifying duplicate payments, fictitious beneficiaries, unauthorized transfers, cash leakage, altered payment records, and unexplained reconciliation differences.
Module 7: Assets, Inventory, and Financial Reporting
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Auditing vehicles, equipment, computers, program assets, inventory, supplies, donated assets, and other resources controlled by non-profit organizations.
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Testing asset registers, physical verification, custody, transfers, maintenance, insurance, impairment, disposal, and donor-funded asset restrictions.
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Evaluating inventory procurement, receipt, storage, distribution, consumption, stock counts, adjustments, and reconciliation with program records.
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Reviewing financial statements, fund balances, commitments, accruals, liabilities, restricted resources, disclosures, and supporting financial schedules.
Module 8: Fraud, Misuse of Funds, and Non-Profit Financial Risk
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Identifying fraud risks involving donor funds, procurement, payroll, grants, beneficiary payments, fundraising, cash, assets, and financial reporting.
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Applying analytical procedures to identify unusual transactions, duplicate payments, abnormal supplier activity, suspicious employee claims, and unexplained fund movements.
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Investigating grant misuse, procurement collusion, false documentation, fictitious beneficiaries, unauthorized transfers, and management override.
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Applying root-cause analysis to recurring financial irregularities, weak controls, inadequate oversight, poor documentation, and ineffective corrective actions.
Module 9: Technology, Data Analytics, and Digital Non-Profit Auditing
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Auditing accounting systems, grant management platforms, fundraising systems, donor databases, procurement applications, and digital payment platforms.
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Evaluating user access, privileged accounts, automated controls, system interfaces, data changes, audit trails, segregation of duties, and cybersecurity safeguards.
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Applying data analytics to grants, transactions, suppliers, employees, beneficiaries, payments, expense claims, and fund movements.
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Assessing digital fundraising, mobile money, cloud accounting, artificial intelligence, automated monitoring, data integrity, privacy, and emerging technology risks.
Module 10: Non-Profit Audit Reporting, Remediation, and Practical Case Studies
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Preparing audit findings that clearly connect donor requirements, financial risks, control deficiencies, unsupported expenditure, and audit evidence.
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Applying practical case studies involving grant misuse, procurement irregularities, payroll fraud, beneficiary payment issues, cash shortages, and reporting errors.
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Developing corrective actions covering grant controls, procurement, payroll, cash management, beneficiary payments, technology, and financial reporting.
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Performing audit follow-up, donor communication, remediation validation, escalation, closure assessment, and continuous monitoring of non-profit financial controls.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
