ST JOHN’S, Antigua – A financial planning and accounting workshop for Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) today and tomorrow is expected to lead to improved financial practices among NGOs according to Alison Goodwin, co-ordinator of the Non-State Actors (NSA) Committee.

The two-day workshop to be held at the UWI Open Campus, Antigua, is being facilitated by the NSA Committee.

The 20 participants will come from local organisations that have benefited from European Union grant funding.

However, Goodwin believes the knowledge they will receive will assist generally in financial reporting.

“It is an EU activity but it can benefit them for any organisation that they will be receiving funding from, because it’s not just the EU they will look to for funding,” Goodwin said.

Last month a training workshop in grant proposal writing was held. Coming out of that, participants identified financial management and accounting as an area of need.

The NSA co-ordinator has underscored the importance of proper reporting and accounting practices for EU grants.

“It’s really important because you have to bear in mind that EU money is really grant funding coming from the EU taxpayers,” she said.

The NSA Committee was formed last August under the Office of the National Authorising Office for the European Development Fund.

Its functions include facilitating deeper involvement of civil society in the Antigua & Barbuda/EU partnership; and to participate in the policy dialogue relating to EU development assistance to Antigua & Barbuda.

Since its formation, the committee has undertaken various actions to bring the member organisations to a level at which they can actively engage in the role that has been marked out for them by the EU, including the conduct of a training needs-assessment to review the gaps within the organisations that need to be addressed.