Beyond the Balance Sheet: Is your charity really financially healthy?
When you look at your charity’s accounts, do you feel confident about what the figures are telling you? Or do you find yourself hoping that someone else around the table will ask the right questions?
You are not alone. For many charity trustees, managers and community leaders, financial reports can feel daunting—especially when finance is only one part of an already busy role.
Yet understanding those reports can help you protect the services, people and causes that matter to your organisation.
That is why I am running Beyond the Balance Sheet: Spotting the Financial Warning Signs Before Your Charity Runs Out of Money—a practical, friendly workshop from Genny Jones Training.
What are the figures really telling you?
A bank balance or a single set of accounts can leave important questions unanswered.
Perhaps your charity has money in the bank, but you are unsure how much is available for everyday running costs. Perhaps reserves have been falling, or the organisation has reported a deficit for several years.
These are the moments when it helps to pause, look beyond the headline figures and ask:
What has changed, and why?
Which funds are available to support our ongoing work?
What do we need to understand before making our next decision?
Are there warning signs that need attention now?
You do not need to become an accountant to take part in these conversations. You need the confidence to understand the information, ask useful questions and seek explanations when something is unclear.
A practical workshop to build your confidence
This session will help you make sense of the balance sheet and explore what it can reveal about your charity’s financial position.
Together, we will look at:
The meaning of assets, liabilities and fund balances.
Restricted and unrestricted funds, and how these relate to reserves.
Warning signs such as recurring deficits and declining reserves.
Why money in the bank may not all be available to spend.
Questions trustees and managers can ask to support better financial oversight.
We will also work through a three-year charity accounts case study, giving you the opportunity to explore the figures, spot changes and discuss what you would ask next.
The session includes a practical checklist, an action-plan template and time for questions, so you can take your learning back to your organisation.
Who is the course for?
This workshop is designed for charity trustees, treasurers, CEOs, managers and finance officers, as well as anyone involved in overseeing a charity’s finances.
No accounting qualification or previous financial training is required. Bring your curiosity, your questions and a willingness to learn.
Learn with The Joyful Accountant
I’m Genny Jones, also known as The Joyful Accountant. I bring over 30 years of accounting and financial-management experience, including work with charities and community organisations. My approach is friendly, practical and jargon-free. I want people to feel comfortable asking questions and leave with a clearer understanding of the figures in front of them. Finance training can be serious about the subject and still make room for smiles!
Join me for beyond the balance sheet
Date: Thursday 26 November 2026
Location: Live online via Zoom
Cost: £40 per participant
Booking: Through Eventbrite
For the session time and full booking details, visit the Eventbrite listing.
Book your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2003991937832?aff=oddtdtcreator
If you know a trustee, charity manager or colleague who would benefit, please share this invitation with them. Let’s build the confidence to ask better questions and take action earlier.
Genny JonesThe Joyful Accountant | Genny Jones Training
Where Spreadsheets meet smiles.
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