Description
Financial Management & Auditing for Grants in Donor-Funded Projects (with Application of MS Project and Advanced Excel)
Module 1: Introduction to Financial Management in Donor-Funded Projects
- Overview of Donor-Funded Project Lifecycle
- Financial Management Principles
- Key Stakeholders and Roles
- Compliance with Donor Requirements (e.g., USAID, World Bank, EU)
- Budget vs Actuals Tracking
- Internal Controls in Grant Management
Excel Functions:
- SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX
- IF, AND, OR
- ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN
- Cell referencing (absolute & relative)
- Named ranges
Module 2: Budget Planning, Development, and Analysis
- Elements of a Good Project Budget
- Aligning Budgets to Logframes
- Budget Phasing and Work Breakdown
- Budget Justifications & Cost Categories
- Forecasting and Resource Planning
Excel Functions:
- SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, IFERROR
- INDEX, MATCH, VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP
- Data Validation for Budget Inputs
- Conditional Formatting for Budget Variance
- Scenario Analysis using CHOOSE and IF
Module 3: Advanced Excel for Grant Budgeting and Financial Reporting
- Designing Donor-Compliant Budget Templates
- Creating Dashboards for Budget Monitoring
- Variance Analysis (Planned vs Actual)
- Linking Worksheets and Workbooks
- Use of Pivot Tables and Charts for Grant Financials
Excel Functions:
- OFFSET, INDIRECT
- GETPIVOTDATA
- Advanced IF nesting
- Pivot Table Setup
- TEXT, LEFT, RIGHT, MID
Module 4: Financial Reporting & Compliance Requirements
- Types of Financial Reports (Quarterly, Annual, Donor-Specific)
- Cash vs Accrual Basis Reporting
- Reporting Tools and Schedules
- Currency Conversion in Reporting
- Donor Templates and Audit Trails
Excel Functions:
- TEXTJOIN, CONCAT, TRIM, CLEAN
- Currency conversion formulas with named exchange rate tables
- ISERROR, IFNA
- NETWORKDAYS, WORKDAY
- Formula Auditing Tools
Module 5: MS Project for Financial Planning and Scheduling
- Introduction to MS Project Interface
- Creating and Structuring a Grant Project
- Task Linking and Dependencies
- Assigning Resources and Costs
- Gantt Charts for Grant Timeline Monitoring
MS Project Tools:
- Task Information and Duration Settings
- Creating Baselines
- Cost Tracking via Resource Sheet
- Timeline Views and Print Options
Module 6: Cash Flow Management & Disbursement Tracking
- Grant Fund Disbursement Schedules
- Cash Flow Forecasting
- Managing Donor Tranches
- Bank Reconciliations and Fund Utilization Reports
Excel Functions:
- SUMPRODUCT, NPER, PMT, RATE
- Cash Flow Dashboards using Graphs & Sparklines
- TODAY, NOW, EDATE
- Dynamic Named Ranges
Module 7: Procurement & Financial Documentation in Grant Projects
- Procurement Procedures under Donor Rules
- Financial Documentation Requirements
- Linking Procurement to Budget
- Tracking Commitments, Obligations & Expenditures
Excel Functions:
- XLOOKUP, FILTER, SORT
- COUNTIF, UNIQUE
- Dynamic arrays
- Drop-down lists, Checkboxes using Forms
Module 8: Auditing Principles and Techniques for Donor Grants
- Types of Grant Audits (Internal, External, Forensic)
- Preparing for Donor Audits
- Audit Evidence & Working Papers
- Risk-Based Auditing in Projects
- Reporting Audit Findings
Excel Functions:
- ISBLANK, ISNUMBER, ISTEXT
- SEARCH, FIND, REPLACE
- Audit checklists in Excel
- Excel templates for audit trails & findings
Module 9: Fraud Risk Management and Internal Controls
- Common Fraud Schemes in Grants
- Internal Control Frameworks (COSO)
- Control Activities for Financial Processes
- Detection and Prevention Strategies
- Whistleblowing & Ethics Reporting
Excel Functions:
- RANK, LARGE, SMALL
- Data Analysis with Conditional Highlighting
- Duplicate Detection (Remove Duplicates, COUNTIF)
- Data Consistency Tools
Module 10: Grant Closure, Resource Mobilisation, Lessons Learnt & Financial Sustainability
Grant Financial Close-Out Procedures:
- Final expenditure reconciliation
- Liquidation of advances
- Final financial and technical reports
- Disposition of grant-funded assets
- Retention and archiving of financial documentation
Post-Audit and Compliance Follow-up:
- Handling audit recommendations
- Strengthening internal systems
- Donor feedback and final assessments
Resource Mobilisation:
- The Resource Mobilisation Cycle
- Donor Mapping and Proposal Writing
- Building Partnerships and Consortia
- Grant Diversification Strategies
- Aligning Projects with Donor Priorities
- Key Proposal Documents (EOIs, Concept Notes, Budgets, Logframes)
- Using grant portals and submission platforms
Sustainability Planning & Institutional Memory:
- Embedding long-term accountability
- Knowledge documentation and transfer
- Succession planning in finance teams
Excel Functions:
- Budget Templates using SUMIFS, IF, ROUND, INDEX-MATCH
- Scenario Planning with WHAT-IF Analysis, Goal Seek
- Donor Mapping Matrix using XLOOKUP, SORT, FILTER
- Proposal Development Gantt Charts
- Grant Pipeline Trackers
MS Project Applications:
- Scheduling Resource Mobilisation Activities
- Assigning Team Roles and Costs
- Creating Proposal Submission Calendars
Description
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand and apply advanced financial management principles specifically tailored to the needs of grant-funded and donor-financed projects.
- Design, implement, and monitor grant budgets that align with donor requirements, project goals, and organizational strategies.
- Effectively use Microsoft Excel for advanced financial planning, budgeting, and reporting, enabling better decision-making and accountability.
- Develop and interpret financial reports in compliance with various donor and audit requirements, including budget vs actual, variance analysis, and financial forecasting.
- Apply internal controls and risk management frameworks to minimize financial mismanagement and ensure transparency in donor-funded operations.
- Plan and execute financial and compliance audits with a clear understanding of documentation standards, audit trails, and donor audit expectations.
- Use MS Project to plan, schedule, and monitor project activities, including resource allocation and cost tracking aligned to financial budgets.
- Integrate financial and operational data to track project performance and improve reporting accuracy using dashboards and modeling techniques.
- Understand donor disbursement procedures and financial documentation requirements, ensuring timely fund utilization and transparent reporting.
- Develop actionable strategies for implementing improved financial and project management practices within their organizations.
General Notes
GENERAL NOTES
i. The clients have many options on where they would wish to have the training
ii. The client should communicate their preferred training venue at least seven days before the training date failure to which the training shall take place in Nairobi.
iii. This course is delivered by our seasoned trainers who have vast experience as expert professionals in the respective fields of practice. The course is taught through a mix of practical activities, theory, group works and case studies.
iii. Training manuals and additional reference materials are provided to the participants.
iv. Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be issued with a Chania finance consultancy certificate.
v. The onsite training fee covers tuition fees, training materials, tea at 10am, lunch, tea at 4pm, training venue and a certificate on completion. Accommodation and travel may be arranged for our participants upon request.
vi. The online training fee covers tuition fees, training materials, and a certificate on completion.
Available at the following Venues
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Google Meet
Choose the date you would like to take the course
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