Response to the following problem:
When disaster strikes In the aftermath of the Asian tsunami at the turn of the year, one of the most important issues was ensuring the huge amounts of money raised were providing necessary aid and reconstruction as efficiently and effectively as possible. That does not just mean medical staff and engineers. It also means accountants. The charity that does this is Mango: Management Accounting for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). It provides accountants in the field and it provides the back-up, such as financial training, and all the other services that should result in really robust financial management in the disaster area. ‘In January we had 40 requests for placements,' says Denise Joseph, director of placements at Mango, ‘and it was not just for the tsunami. It is an indication of the value that aid agencies place on management accountants. They play a very important role in relief efforts.' That role will increase. The sheer scale of the money now involved ensures that. Funds for tsunami relief now stand at £365m. In comparison, the funds raised for the Kosovo appeal in 1999 amounted to £53m. ‘It is vastly more than previous sums raised,' says Ms Joseph, ‘and coupled with this is the pressure to spend money very quickly. So the strain on existing financial controls and management creates extra pressures.' Mango's work is twofold. It recruits accountants and keeps them on a register to enable a rapid response to the needs of NGOs. And it provides training courses and guidance for them. For example, Mango has devised a Financial Management Health Check that can be downloaded by NGOs, through which they can gauge the strength of their financial systems. So far, 47,000 copies of the Health Check have been downloaded. ‘Aid agencies,' says Ms Joseph, ‘achieve different levels of cost effectiveness. We find that if you have someone knowledgeable about financial reporting and that person is separate from the programme manager, it leads to cost savings and efficiencies.' It is a simple principle. But it is one that can be easily forgotten in the chaos and speed of getting relief to disaster victims. Management accountants can make a huge difference both in making sure the money is spent effectively in the field and that accountability back to the donors is of a high standard.