Issues in Sustainability - UMT



Introduction to Financial Management – NPAD513 – Fall 2020

Online Program in Nonprofit Administration |

Coordinated by UMOnline and the Department of Public Administration and Policy |

In partnership with the  Montana Nonprofit Association

Credit Hours: 2

Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of excel software

Instructor: Lisa Swallow, CPA CMA MS

Phone: (406) 370-8102

Email: lisa.swallow@umontana.edu

Office Hours: MW 12-1 virtual office hours  

Course Description

This ten-week online course is intended for students and professionals interested in unpacking the basics of financial management for nonprofits. This course will explore directed issues related to fiscal management of a nonprofit including accounting basics, budgeting, financial statement ratios and analysis, management controls, insurance administration, investment portfolio management and nonprofit income tax reporting.

Weekly Plan and Outcomes

|Calendar |Learning Objectives |Student Requirement |Due Date |Points |

|Intro 8/19 – 8/21 | | Participate in introductory discussion forum|8/23 |5 |

| | | | | |

| | |Sign up for two synchronous zoom meeting | | |

| | |times (week of 9/14* and week of 10/26*) | | |

|Week 1 beginning 8/24 |Unit 1: Identify and define commonly used|Turn in financial statement assignment to the|8/30 |10 |

| |financial terms and delineate financial |assignments folder | | |

| |statements for nonprofit accounting | | | |

|Week 2 beginning 8/31 |Unit 2: Identify budgeting methods and |Begin budgeting project | | |

| |cash flow projection tools | | | |

|Week 3 beginning 9/7 |Unit 3: Develop and interpret an |Turn in budgeting project to the assignments |9/13 |50 |

| |operating budget |folder | | |

|Week 4 beginning 9/14 |Unit 4: Identify precepts of management |Participate in internal control discussion |9/20 |10 |

| |controls |forum | | |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Calendar |Course Outcomes |Student Requirement |Date Due |Points |

|Week 5 beginning 9/21 |Unit 5: Analyze financial statements | |*I will post |20 |

| | |*Participate in instructor-led synchronous |agreed upon | |

| | |zoom meeting on financial statement analysis |dates by 8/31 | |

| | | | | |

| | |Watch DPAP Cultural Awareness video | | |

|Week 6 beginning 9/28 |Unit 6: Utilize to |Guide Star Discussion Forum #1 |10/4 |15 |

| |research, read and interpret nonprofit tax| | | |

| |returns |Guide Star Discussion Forum #2 | | |

| | | |10/6 |25 |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

|Week 7 beginning 10/5 |Finalize Unit 6 |Guide Star Discussion Forum #3 |10/11 |25 |

|Week 8 beginning 10/12 |Unit 7: Engage in Capital Budgeting and |Case study on capital budgeting |10/18 |25 |

| |Financing | | | |

|Week 9 beginning 10/19 |Unit 8: Investment Policy, Choosing an | | | |

| |Investment Manager & Evaluating Portfolio |Research Paper Due (see instructions below) | | |

| |Performance | |10/25 |50 |

|Week 10 beginning 10/26 | |Investment Policy Assignment |10/30 |20 |

| | | | | |

| | |*Participate in instructor-led synchronous | | |

| | |zoom meeting – present results of research |*I will post |20 |

| | |paper |agreed upon | |

| | | |dates by 8/31 | |

| |*Final Evaluations will occur the week of | | |275 total |

| |November 17 | | |points |

Research Paper and Presentation

This culminating assignment will serve as your ‘final’, and is due 10/25/20 to the assignments folder. We will find a time (or two) that we can all meet and you can present your research to your colleagues.

Using peer-reviewed journals, choose a current topic that applies to nonprofit financial management. Renowned journals in this field include Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Chronicles of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Quarterly. You should access two different articles related to your chosen topic. It can be something controversial or any related financial management topic that interests you. You can find out if the articles are peer-reviewed by looking at the submission page for the journal.

The 2-page 11-point font paper (written in APA style) will offer:

• Overview of the article – be sure to include the type of research, etc.

• Key points

• In what direction could additional research or discussion build on your topical area (what’s untapped?)

• What was your primary lesson learned (try to think about relevance to your interests/career trajectory, your organization, etc.)

• Citation page for your research (in APA style) and succinct opening and concluding paragraphs

Your presentation will be 5-6 minutes in length and briefly and succinctly cover the above facets.

Course Materials

• All readings may be found in .pdf files in weekly reading folders under Course Materials

• The financial statement assignment, comprehensive budget project and Guide Star project instructions may be found under assignment instructions under Course Materials

• Discussion forum question are all posted under Discussion Board

Acceptable Methods of Communication

• Moodle, email, virtual office hours and appointed times for individual conversations and meetings .

Important: In your email messages, please include the course number/topic in the subject line.

• Per official UM policy, please use your UM email account for email communications.

Please remember to maintain a professional demeanor in all interactions, including email and other electronic forms of correspondence.

“Netiquette” and Expectations

There are rules and etiquette that apply to the online realm, just as there are in the rest of society.

As such, it is important for you to maintain a friendly, open, and professional demeanor. The other students in the course and I are your colleagues and will serve as tremendous resources for you as we work through the course material together. To nurture your rapport with others in the class, remember to maintain a collegial and a professional demeanor throughout the semester. See the section on “General Misconduct. On the Student Conduct Code (link below).

The following are good practices and expectations for student conduct in this online class. To quote : “Like all professional endeavors, successful performance in an online course depends on following certain standardized rules to achieve clear communication.”

Please follow the Student Conduct Code and these rules and expectations throughout the semester:

• Participate frequently. Studies show that the more students participate in an online class, the better they do. Put your ideas out there so that others may read them, understand them, and respond to them.

• Complete your work on time and make sure that you’re staying current with the syllabus each week.

• Conduct yourself on Moodle, virtual office hours and in this online class as you would in real life. Respect others and remember that your fellow students are people. Be ethical, punctual, courteous, professional, compassionate, intellectually engaged, respectful, and enthusiastic.

• Remember that outside of a conference call or zoom meeting, you cannot see facial expressions, gestures, and other mannerisms that are important in communication while on Moodle. Tread lightly – avoid all caps, exclamation points, and/or purposely provoking your fellow students (or the instructor). If you would not say it in person, please do not say it on Moodle, via email, or through other means of online, electronic communication.

• Represent yourself well online: make sure that your writing is grammatically correct and supported by sources offered through the class. Use clear, concise, academic, and professional language. Test for clarity – your paragraph might be clear to you, but it might not necessarily be clear to others. Stay focused on the topic at hand.

• Be collaborative and show a willingness to work with others. To quote : “To be truly collaborative, it is important to share information, reveal tips you may have discovered, and respect the ideas of others.”

Failure to abide by UM’s Student Conduct Code and these rules of “Netiquette” will result in the appropriate penalties.

For further resources on online etiquette, which inspired the above list, see the following links:

• Albion netiquette rules

• UWC technology rules

Technical Support

Having trouble with Moodle? Unable to post or log in? Can’t submit assignments? Avoid waiting until the last minute to contact the UM Solutions Center or me. If you are experiencing technical difficulties and need immediate assistance, here are important resources:

Email: umonline-help@mso.umt.edu

Phone: 406.243.4999 or 866.225.1641 (toll-free)

Disabled Students

Students with disabilities will receive reasonable accommodations in this online course. To request course modifications, please contact me as soon as possible. I will work with you and Disability Services in the accommodation process.

Request for Withdrawal

Please see the UM Nonprofit Administration Online Program website for information on withdrawing from courses and on refund policies. Students are responsible for reading and understanding the full UM policy on withdrawal from courses.

Evaluation

General

Projects, assignments, discussion forums, zoom classroom participation and a research paper/presentation are allocated point values. The total points earned divided by the total points available, as indicated under “Grading Scale”, will yield the appropriate grade for the course.

Important: No late homework will be accepted. In order to maintain a level playing field I will apply this policy uniformly.

Items assigned shall be submitted in three ways as specified in the weekly plan –

1. via the assignments folder

2. in the discussion forum or

3. as a participant in a zoom classroom.

Important: Assignments/discussion forums are due by 11 p.m. MST Time on the dates outlined.

Assignments

When you post to the assignments area, attach the file you want to submit. All documents must be in either Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.

Discussion Forums

When you post to the discussion forum, everyone can see your postings. I usually do not respond individually to these (rather, I will make general comments to synthesize the postings); your points will show up directly in the grade book.

It is also important whenever you have a required discussion forum posting that you respond to at least two other colleagues. Responses should be thoughtful, build on the topic at hand and of course be grammatically professional.

Your 10-point forum posts will be assessed as follows: 3 points for reflective response to other students and 7 points for original post.

Grading Matrix

8-10 points = A | Exceptional/exceeds requirements set forth

Student’s forum posts express critical thinking about the assigned readings for the week. The forum posts directly reference many of the readings and online course materials, bringing them together in a thoughtful, thorough, and exceptional manner.  Forum posts further the discussion. The student supplements his/her post with pictures, tables, and additional resources. All forum posts are well-written using complete sentences and correct spelling and grammar.

6-7 points = B | Above average and meets the requirements set forth

Student’s forum posts express critical thinking about the assigned readings for the week with direct references to some of the readings and other course materials, bringing the together in an above average manner. All forum posts are written in an above-average way in complete sentences and include correct spelling and grammar.

4-5 points = C | Meets requirements set forth

Student’s forum posts express critical thinking about topics from the week, but with few references to the assigned readings and other course materials while adequately connecting course concepts. Most forum posts are written in complete sentences with proper grammar and spelling.

2-3 points = D | Below average, does not meet requirements set forth

Student’s forum posts contain speculative comments without support from the content of the course (e.g., assigned readings, lectures, etc.) or comments are not relevant to the week’s readings. The minimum number of forum posts was not met. Forum posts are not properly written in terms of paragraphing, sentence structure, and/or grammar and spelling.

0-1 points = F | Does not meet the criteria set forth.

The forum posts have no bearing on the course, are without relevance to that week’s topic, are poorly written, do not meet the criteria set forth, or are not completed for that week.

Grading Scale

Plus/minus grades are not assigned in this course. Letter grades shall be allocated as follows:

|90 - 100% |A |

|80 - 89% |B |

|70 - 79% |C |

|60 - 69% |D |

|59%- |F |

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