Podcast: The Money Myths Holding Your Nonprofit Back
Too many nonprofit leaders quietly avoid their own finances, trusting that a clean audit or a capable CPA means everything is handled, and that blind spot can put a mission at real risk. In this episode, Patton talks with Sean Hale, founder of Nonprofit CFOs, who busts five money myths that hold organizations back: that the audit has them covered, that finance is the CPA’s job, that nonprofits aren’t supposed to make a profit, that confusing financial reports are just part of the territory, and that you say yes to whatever a funder asks.
Drawing on more than two decades inside the sector and a contrarian, plain-English style, Sean explains what a standard audit actually does and doesn’t catch, why a whistleblower policy and strong internal controls protect an organization far more than people realize, how an executive director can engage with the numbers in twenty minutes a month without becoming a bookkeeper, and why building a modest annual surplus is one of the smartest things a board can do. Listeners will walk away with practical, doable steps to raise financial literacy across their whole organization and the confidence to push back when a grant simply isn’t worth the cost.