From orphanages to hospitals to International NGOs, volunteer accountants are needed across Africa, Asia and South America. Accounting for International Development (AfID) arranges volunteer placements from 2 weeks to 6 months or more at these organisations.
Grassroots organisations such as health clinics, street child centres and schools hugely benefit from financial coaching and support: the improvement in financial management allows them to do more work with the same amount of money, and in a number of cases saves them from closing down.
Assignments typically focus on 1 of 3 primary areas:
- Conducting a Financial Health Assessment/Internal Audit
- Coaching and developing the accounting skills of local NGO staff
- Assisting with the preparation and analysis of financial plans and budgets
The need for skilled accountants is largely driven by a lack of training at local level, combined with the complex reporting requirements of donor organisations. When you are a headmistress, doctor or a nun trying to run an NGO with very limited resources, it can be very difficult to keep accurate records and perform your normal duties - with a different set of accounts and reports required by each donor, of which there can be many, you begin to see the problem.
Additional responsibilities may include:
- International donor relations
- Sourcing new local NGO partners
- Implementation of financial controls & procedures
- Assisting partners with funding proposals and assessments.
- Teaching English, sports & Microsoft Office skills
For more information please contact us on +44 (0) 207 559 1422 or email info@afid.org.uk. Please forward our details to any accountants in your network that you think would be interested in our work. www.afid.org.uk