Finance Intelligence

Only 1 in 4 Australian NFPs Feels Financially Stable 4 May 2026  |  By Timothy, CPA — Managing Director, Professional Financelink (PFL) A new report from the Australian Communities Foundation landed recently with a number that stopped me mid-scroll: only one in four Australian NFPs feels financially stable , with adequate reserves to sustain them long term. Three in four don't. If you work in or around the NFP sector, that figure probably doesn't surprise you. But it should alarm you — because the problem isn't going away on its own, and it isn't primarily a fundraising problem. It's a finance function problem. This post is about what that looks like in practice, and what the finance team — not the CEO, not the board, the finance team — can actually do about it. 1 in 4 Australian NFPs report having adequate financial reserves for long-term sustainability 60% Rely primarily on short-term grant...

Date: 13 April 2026  |  By: Timothy, CPA — Managing Director, Professional Financelink (PFL) Note: The scenarios in this post are based on real experiences — mine and those shared by colleagues across the NFP sector. Details have been modified slightly to protect confidentiality, and I've used a first-person perspective throughout for readability. It's happening more often now. A board member reads something about AI in the AFR or hears a presentation at a sector conference, and suddenly there's an agenda item: "What is our position on artificial intelligence?" For the finance team sitting in the room, this moment can go one of two ways. Either you're prepared — with a clear view of what AI is already being used in the organisation, what the risks are, and what governance gaps need addressing — or you're scrambling to answer a question you haven't fully thought through yet. I've been in both s...