SMART BALKANS: Financial Academy for CSOs

About the project

As part of the Financial Academy in Serbia within the SMART Balkans project, the training program titled “Enhancing Financial and Administrative Management Skills for Civil Society Organizations” is scheduled to commence in February 2025.
The program is designed to equip participants with practical knowledge and skills for effective financial management, strategic decision-making, and achieving long-term financial stability and sustainability within civil society organizations.

  • The training consists of three modules, each with a duration of 40 hours (10 hours of theoretical and 30 hours of practical activities);
  • Sessions will be conducted twice a week, each lasting 4 hours (totaling 8 hours per week);
  • Each module will be delivered over a five-week period;
  • The training will be delivered through a combination of in-person classes and online sessions;
  • The training has a total duration of 120 hours, delivered over a 15-week period.

Project modules

  • Legal provisions and the importance of administrative operations;
  • Office tasks: letters, forms, documents, and other types of business correspondence;
  • Human resources: functions, decision-making, role diversification and responsibilities, dealing with issues and conflict situations;
  • Regulations and internal controls;
  • Reporting.

Trainer: Uroš Ćemalović

  • Legal framework for financial operations in civil society organizations.
  • Basic financial concepts in civil society organizations.
  • Income and expenses: revenue, VAT, invoices, cash register, expenses, cash, non-cash expenses, income tax.
  • Types of costs: identifying cost types, operational expenses, recording costs, tax treatment of expenses, expressing costs excluding VAT, VAT exemptions.
  • Procurement procedures: tender processes, contract preparation, contract elements, audits.

Trainer: Snežana-Andreja Arambašić

  • Project management and grant agreements.
  • Budgeting and fundraising opportunities.
  • Reporting systems (internal, donor-related, planning vs. execution, task allocation vs. adopted work packages, partner responsibilities in a consortium);
  • Monitoring and evaluation;
  • Integrity, transparency, and accountability.

Trainer: Dragana Soćanin