CERATH Development Organisation

Managing multiple donor grants with different compliance requirements was overwhelming CERATH's finance team. We implemented systems that simplified everything.

Every donor wanted something different

CERATH Development Organisation works on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and environmental conservation across Ghana and West Africa. Their work is funded by a diverse mix of donors: USAID, the European Union, private foundations, and bilateral aid programs.

Each donor has unique reporting requirements, different fiscal year ends, and varying levels of documentation needs. CERATH's finance team was spending more time on compliance paperwork than supporting program delivery.

Six active grants with different reporting formats
Audit findings on fund segregation in previous years
Manual tracking of expenditures against budgets
Quarterly reports taking 3+ weeks to prepare
Risk of disallowed costs due to documentation gaps

Built for the complexity of development work

NGO accounting is a specialty. It requires understanding donor requirements, fund accounting principles, and the unique cash flow challenges of grant-based organizations. Here's how we approached CERATH's transformation:

Donor Requirements Mapping

We documented every donor's specific reporting requirements, allowable costs, cost allocation rules, and documentation standards. This became our blueprint.

Fund Accounting System

Configured Xero with proper fund tracking so every cedis is tied to a specific grant, with clear segregation between restricted and unrestricted funds.

Cost Allocation Framework

Developed a defensible methodology for allocating shared costs across grants, documented and approved by management, ready for any audit.

Budget vs. Actual Tracking

Built real-time dashboards showing expenditure against budget for each grant, with alerts when spending approaches limits.

Audit Preparation Protocol

Created standardized documentation practices and a pre-audit checklist that ensures CERATH is always audit-ready, not scrambling before auditors arrive.

Clean audits, faster reporting, confident finance team

The transformation wasn't just about compliance. It was about giving CERATH's team confidence in their numbers and freeing up time to support the organization's mission.

30% Faster Grant Reporting

Quarterly reports now take days, not weeks

Clean Audit Opinions

Unqualified opinions across all donor audits

Zero Disallowed Costs

Proper documentation means no questioned expenses

Akonu understood our world. They didn't try to fit us into a corporate accounting box. They built systems that work for how development organizations actually operate. Our auditors have commented on how well-organized our records are now.

Abigail Mensah Finance Manager, CERATH Development Organisation

NGO or development organization?

We Understand Your Unique Needs

Managing multiple donors, grant accounting, and complex compliance requirements is our specialty. Let's talk about how we can help your organization.

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