German nonprofits need digital FP&A processes to build trust and deliver impact
Like many globally, nonprofits in Germany are challenged with legacy systems that struggle to provide appropriate data insights that help create a financial strategy, all while aiming to free their people’s time to focus on their mission: improving people’s lives.
Nonprofits need to make the most of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) software which can help financial teams maximize available funding, build greater trust, and support making decisions with precision.
For success and resilience, nonprofits in all regions must model potential scenarios, monitor cash flow, track KPIs, and forecast with agility. FP&A capabilities breed the resilience needed to navigate unpredictable disruptions and trending challenges with changing compliance and regulatory demands.
Keep reading to learn the challenges and trends that nonprofits will face in Germany, and how Unit4’s Cloud-based FP&A solution can help nonprofit organizations refocus on their mission.
Challenges for German Nonprofits
In Germany, there are around 600,000 nonprofits, many of which currently struggle with legacy systems like Excel to analyze financial performance, meaning when disruption strikes, they can struggle to respond quickly.
As a result, it’s no surprise that in one report 78% of the German nonprofits interviewed answered that they were looking to invest in software solutions.
Financial sustainability is a major issue post-pandemic with government funding schemes being reduced or ended, in addition to a financial crisis reducing how much the public can afford to donate. German nonprofit organizations must learn from previous disruptions and adapt their financial planning capabilities to suit.
The EU is also adopting amendments to IFRS 16 that are to be applied at the latest to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024, the amendments relate to the recognition of lease liabilities from sale and leaseback transactions. Those still using legacy systems will struggle with ongoing IFRS 16 management.
Globally, nonprofits are also challenged with meeting new compliance around Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting. This requires a cross-functional response from HR and finance teams and a workload that needs digital capabilities to manage.
Click to read Helping nonprofits deliver on their mission with FP&A and HCM Gated
How can Unit4 FP&A help your organization plan for disruption
Unit4 FP&A planning solution has been specifically designed with the financial planning and analysis needs of nonprofits in mind. At its core is a powerful pre-configured integration to Unit4’s ERP to connect operational data with the strategic planning capabilities of FP&A.
Unit4 FP&A helps support tasks such as importing financial data, and master data while exporting planning data and drilling down to ERP transactional activity becomes simpler. A faster and reduced risk implementation process means benefits are realized quicker
Nonprofit-specific capabilities of Unit4 FP&A include:
- Drill down into income and funding to track grants, awards, sponsorships, and donations
- Allocate funding to named projects from specific income sources
- Project expenditure monitoring for personnel, procurement, travel, and administration costs
- Overhead expenditure analysis for fundraising and administration costs
- Satisfy donors and sponsors thanks to advanced reporting capabilities
- Out-of-the-box functionality
- Pre-configured reports and pre-built templates
Donor management, fund management, grant management, operational planning, financial analysis, KPI tracking, and impact reporting are other specific areas for nonprofits where Unit4 FP&A could reduce workloads for financial teams and provide the agility they need to refocus on strategic plans.
Advanced reporting capabilities through AI automation can also mean that communicating financial plans to donors, sponsors, and partners, is much easier and can be clear. Moreover, Unit4 FP&A provides a common data model in the Cloud which ensures your organization can seamlessly connect with applications you rely on.
By moving away from financial performance management in legacy systems like Excel, Nonprofits become more empowered to plan strategically with an intuitive and flexible Cloud-based FP&A platform so they can focus on delivering the impact needed to achieve your mission while monitoring programs, grants, and funding with ease.
Samuel Hamway, Senior Analyst at Nucleus Research writes: “Unit4 FP&A enables deeper insights and operational efficiency, significantly reducing costs while boosting planning accuracy. I recommend Unit4’s integrated solutions for those aiming for operational excellence and strategic alignment in today’s dynamic landscape.”
To learn more about how Unit4 helps nonprofit organizations globally, read our customer stories, consult our product page, or talk to sales to hear how we can help you deliver your mission without disruption.
