Nonprofit Board Committees: Financial Committees

Overview

Most nonprofit boards have a principal finance committee that oversees the financial planning and management of the organization to ensure that all fiscal aspects of operations are in order. Many also find a need for an audit committee and an investment committee. Others choose to create task forces instead, which provide flexibility and efficiency for handling various demands in the financial context of an organization. The size and complexity of an organization and its board will determine the configuration of its financial committees.

Questions answered in this chapter from Nonprofit Board Committees include the following:

• How do we decide whether our board needs multiple financial committees?
• How do financial committees work with the organization’s financial staff?
• What are the basic responsibilities of the finance committee?
• Should our board have an audit committee or task force? An investment committee or task force?
• What are the basic responsibilities of the audit committee, and what is its relationship with the independent auditor?
• Are there viable ways to combine financial tasks with the work of other board committees?

This PDF includes the first chapter of Nonprofit Board Committees — Transforming Committee Structure — as well as the Financial Committees chapter.