Outsourced Finance Function for an International NGO

An international NGO with programmes in water, sanitation, and education across northern Namibia, with an annual operational budget of approximately NAD 18 million funded by European bilateral donors.

The NGO's country director had flagged to headquarters that the finance function was understaffed and underperforming. Monthly donor reports were being submitted late, the internal budget-vs-actual tracking was inaccurate, and the organisation had twice been asked by its primary donor to provide expenditure explanations that took weeks to compile. The country director did not have the budget to hire a senior finance manager but needed the function operating at a higher standard.

We took over the full outsourced finance function on a part-time basis, covering transaction processing, monthly bank reconciliations, budget-vs-actual reporting against each donor funding line, and preparation of the monthly donor narrative reports. We restructured the chart of accounts to align with the three active donor grant structures and implemented a monthly financial review meeting with the country director. We also cleaned up two years of historical bookkeeping to give the organisation accurate financial records.

Monthly donor reports submitted on time for eight consecutive months since engagement. Budget-vs-actual tracking accurate and current. The primary donor commended the improvement in financial reporting quality at the mid-term review. The country director now has the financial visibility to make operational decisions confidently. Two years of historical records cleaned and reconciled.