SHATIL financial management consultant Liora Asa recently served as a panelist for the Charlie Awards 2008 program, which brings outstanding Taglit-Birthright graduates from throughout the world to Israel for a week of intensive leadership development.

Liora’s presentation highlighted the important role of sound fiscal management and budgeting as a basis for effective and sustainable management of non-profit organizations throughout the world. She stressed to these young, dynamic leaders the importance of budgeting in good management as they build their local initiatives back home. The participants saw that budgeting reflects the values and beliefs of an organization and that the numbers tell a story all their own that reflects priorities, transparency, resources, partners and community involvement.

Liora Asa giving her presentation (center)

SHATIL’s new program on financial management for social change organizations, which is in its pilot year, aims to expand NGOs toolkits to integrate financial management tools without compromising creativity and ideology. It includes an emphasis on the four building blocks of financial management:  record keeping, internal control, budgeting and financial reporting.

The Charlie Award is a joint initiative of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Center for Leadership Initiatives and recognizes the achievements and visions of exceptional Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni from around the world.