Practical controls sized to your organization.
Protection, clarity, and oversight without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Good internal controls help protect the organization, clarify responsibility, improve the reliability of information, and give the board confidence that important risks are being managed.
Relevant Strategies evaluates financial controls and governance practices in the context of your actual size, staffing, systems, and resources. We identify what matters most and recommend improvements the organization can realistically maintain.
BEGINE WITH THE USEFUL QUESTIONS
The goal is not every possible control.
Are the most important risks understood?
Are incompatible duties separated where practical?
Does the board receive information it needs to provide oversight?
A thoughtful assessment focuses on the risks that matter, the responsibilities people actually carry, and the controls the organization can realistically sustain.
Are responsibilities clear?
Where staffing is limited, are compensating controls in place?
Are policies consistent with actual practice?
Can the organization demonstrate how key transactions are authorized, recorded, reviewed, and retained?
A small nonprofit should not be given a control structure designed for a large institution. It should have a thoughtful structure designed for its own risks and capacity.
AREAS AN ASSESSMENT MAY COVER
A disciplined look at how work is authorized, recorded, reviewed, and governed.
The assessment is scoped around the organization's actual risks and questions. These groups organize common review areas; they are not preset packages.
Cash & spending
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Cash reciepts and deposits
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Purchasing and disbursements
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Credit card and expense reimbursement
Close, revenue & reporting
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Reconciliiations and review
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Revenue, grants, and donor restrictions
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Journal entries and financial close
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Financial reporting to management and the board
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Budget approval and monitoring
People, payroll & access
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Payroll and personnel changes
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Bank and system access
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Information system roles and access
Governancee & documentation
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Vendor setup and conflict of interest
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Document retention
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Whistleblower, conflict of interest, and related governance practices
The purpose is not to create a longer policy manual. It is to understand where risk is concentrated, whether responsibilities and review are clear, and which improvements would provide the greatest practical benefit.
OUR APPROACH
Understand the current practice before recommending the future state.
We distinguish significant risks from lower-priority improvements and consider practical compensating controls where staffing or resources are limited.
Define the scope
Identify the questions the assessment needs to answer and the risks most relevant to the organization.
Understand current practice
Review documents, interview responsible people, and walk through how key processes actually operate.
Evaluate & prioritize
Distinguish significant risks from lower-priority improvements and consider practical compensating controls.
Communicate clearly
Explain findings in plain language and organize recommendations by priority, effort, and expected benefit.
WHAT YOU MAY RECEIVE
Findings organized for understanding and action.
The form of the deliverable depends on the scope, audience, and decisions the organization needs to make.
Current state observations
Prioritized findings and recommendations
Implementation roadmap
Risk and control matrix
Suggested policy or procedure changes
Board or finance committee presentation
Follow-up support during implementation
A CONSULTING ASSESSMENT
Designed to improve understanding—not to provide assurance.
This service helps management and the board understand and improve governance and internal controls. The distinction should remain clear in both the proposal and the final deliverable.
The assessment may
Describe current practices and responsibilities
Identify significant risks and practical control gaps
Prioritize recommendations by effort and benefit
Suggest policy, procedure, and oversight improvements
Support management and board understanding
It does not provide
An audit of review engagement
An assurance opinion or conclusion
A guarantee that every error will be identified
A guarantee that every irregularity will be identified
Relevant Strategies LLC provides non-attest consulting services. The engagement does not provide assurance over financial statements or controls and does not guarantee the absence of error or irregularity.