http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/resources/special-reports/finance-accounting/financial-focus-prescribed-nonprofits
The bottom line
Nonprofits need to "tell the truth about their financial situation in order to even think through what the right strategies are for their future," Alnes says.
In particular, she says, nonprofits need to pay attention to their cash position.
So nonprofits should create a cash-flow forecast for at least a year into the future, looking at "each and every source of revenue" and conservatively estimating what is likely to happen with each of them, she says.
Miller says nonprofits typically have responded to the economic downturn by generating profit-and-loss statements and cash-flow projections, reports she says nonprofits should be preparing each month.
And those numbers should reflect "the actual, the real revenue," she says.
"You should be making sure your numbers are good and you are looking them straight in the eye," she says. "If you don't have the windshield cleared, you're going to drive into a tree."