HOW TO COOK YOUR BOOKS?????????? A NONPROFIT RECIPE FOR DISASTER

We've talked about the scary repercussions of trying to reach unrealistically high performance measures before....

I just came across an article that's apparently been around since 2003, How I Cooked the Books and Why. Written under the pseudonym "Phil Anthrop" (which is funny by itself), Phil tells the harrowing tale of good values going horribly wrong.

I highly recommend this article to anyone managing nonprofit service contracts. Maybe when our funders ask us to meet some unreasonable metrics we should all just quote Nancy Reagan and "just say no." After all the same contracts require compliance with the Drug Free Workplace Act (product from the same administration).

The article comes from a back issue of the Nonprofit Quarterly (which I am obliged to plug once again). Please be assured that no payment has been received for this nod (and I have no financial interest, etc)! I just love and admire that rag.

Further reading from the "Eye":

On Performance Measures:
Life, the Universe and Everything: Nonprofit Objectives Measurement

On Drug-Free WorkPlace & Self-Imposed Censorship:
Pushing the Envelope: Nonprofit Censorship



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Comments

Nonprofit Pundit said…
This is possibly the funniest thing I have read since "Fear of Flying" which I read while flying down to Sao Paulo.

I giggled laciviously for several hours as I took advantage of the long flight to read it in one gulp. This clearly dismayed a Japanese businessman sitting next to me who kept giving me nervous glances.

I have no doubt he would have bribed someone to swap seats if he had heard me tonight.
1/12/2007 1:43 AM
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