National not-for-profit

How we modernised a national not-for-profit and made audit season effortless

ANCOLD did not come to us because something had broken. They came because staying the same had become the bigger risk.

ClientANCOLD, the Australian National Committee on Large Dams

SizeNational membership body, multi-state volunteer board

EngagementMYOB to Xero migration, bookkeeping, membership invoicing, batch payments, audit preparation and board support

The situation

Where they started

ANCOLD, the Australian National Committee on Large Dams, is the peak body for dam engineering and water infrastructure professionals in Australia. Its members include engineers, asset owners, regulators and researchers across the country.

When they came to us their books lived in MYOB, their audit trail lived in filing cabinets, and their authorising directors lived in different states with no remote access to any of it. Membership invoicing was manual, which meant errors, delays and constant follow up. Bills were paid in dribs and drabs across the week, with no consistent batching and no clean approval trail.

Nothing had broken. The board could simply see that there was no realistic path to grow, modernise or operate across state borders on a desktop accounting file. That was more than ten years ago, and the partnership has shaped what audit ready not-for-profit finance looks like here since.

The challenges

What we found when we opened the file

01 Stuck in MYOB The whole organisation ran on a desktop accounting system. No cloud access, no remote logins, and no way for a board member in another state to review or approve anything as it happened.

02 A paper based audit trail Every audit was a marathon. Documents lived in filing cabinets and email threads, reconciliations were caught up under deadline pressure, and the auditor started from scratch each year.

03 A board across several states Authorising directors were spread around the country. Approvals needed physical signatures or workarounds, and there was no clean way to enforce segregation of duties across borders.

04 Membership invoicing done by hand Annual member invoices were raised and sent manually. No templates, no automation, no consistency, and a workload that spiked at every renewal.

05 Bill payments without control Bills were paid in dribs and drabs across the week with no batching and no clear approval trail. One person could both enter and authorise, which is a real internal control risk.

06 No path to scale The system worked until it did not. Each new committee, event or member added admin, and there was no way to modernise without a partner who knew the not-for-profit world.

What we did

Started with a full review of the MYOB file and a discovery call to map the workflows, the board structure and the audit pain points.

Migrated ANCOLD from MYOB to Xero, a complete move to a cloud based finance system, with no disruption to year end reporting.

Set up Xero invoicing templates for membership renewals, replacing the manual process with a repeatable workflow and online payment for members.

Implemented a weekly batch payment run: bills uploaded once a week, approved online by the right authorising directors, then released as a single batch file with one reconciliation line.

Established proper segregation of duties, with separate roles for entry, approval and bank authorisation, and directors approving from whichever state they are in.

Restructured audit preparation so documents are collected and organised, and reconciliations completed, before the auditor arrives.

Built tracking categories for events, courses, committees and locations, giving the board programme level visibility for the first time.

Provided ongoing treasurer and board support, including plain English explanations of the reports for directors who do not come from a finance background.

The outcome

What it changed

Where a figure is not on record, the change is described in words. No percentage is estimated and no metric is invented.

10+ years The length of the partnership. The system has grown with the organisation, and the board has visibility at every meeting and every audit.

Audit ready What used to be a paper marathon is largely complete before the auditor arrives. Reconciliations are done, documents are organised, and there is no last minute chase.

Any state Authorising directors log in from wherever they are to review and approve payments. Decisions no longer wait on paperwork.

One run a week One batch file, one reconciliation line, one approval event. The bank statement is easier to read and the audit trail holds.

Duties separated No single person can both enter and authorise a payment. The control is built into the workflow and can be shown to the auditor.

Renewals streamlined Member invoices run through Xero templates with online payment. Errors are down and renewal time no longer overwhelms the admin team.

As a not-for-profit it is essential that our financial systems are efficient, accurate and compliant with our obligations. NN Accountability has been our trusted partner for over a decade. They transitioned us from MYOB to Xero, streamlining our invoicing and improving our financial workflow. Their in-depth knowledge of Xero and commitment to automation has saved us time and reduced manual errors.
Paul, ANCOLD

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