How To Advance Your Finance Career in Nonprofits and Associations

Building a successful finance career in mission-driven organizations requires a combination of technical financial expertise, effective communication with non-financial colleagues, management of teams, partners, and systems, and a deep understanding of how finance supports the mission.

This guide outlines what hiring managers typically look for in mid-level, senior, and chief finance and accounting professionals and how you can show your value at each stage. While every organization and role is different, these insights reflect trends we’ve seen across a wide range of executive searches in finance and accounting.

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Mid-Level Finance and Accounting Qualifications + Tips To Grow Into These Responsibilities

Senior-Level Finance and Accounting Qualifications + Tips To Position Yourself for Executive Roles

C-Suite Finance and Accounting Qualifications + Tips To Set Yourself Apart as a Finance Leader

Mid-Level Finance and Accounting Job Qualifications

If you’re aiming for a mid-level finance or accounting role at a nonprofit or association with job titles like Accounting Manager, Finance Manager, or Assistant Controller, here are the qualifications that hiring managers typically prioritize:

• Education and Certifications. You have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. A CPA is often preferred.
• Communication and Influence. You are comfortable explaining financial concepts, translating reports, and helping colleagues use financial information to make decisions. You support non-financial staff during budgeting processes and ensure accurate, timely reporting.
• Operational Oversight. You are responsible for setting timelines, tracking deliverables, and ensuring smooth month-end and year-end close processes. You manage your own workload and set priorities without waiting to be told what to do.
• Leadership and Collaboration. You bring some leadership experience, even if it’s informal, such as managing a small team, mentoring a colleague, or coordinating with external accounting providers.
• Reporting and Compliance. You are proficient in ERP and financial reporting systems (e.g., Sage Intacct, NetSuite, MIP, QuickBooks). You may have experience customizing or automating reports. Familiarity with fund accounting and grant tracking tools is typically a plus.
• Process and Systems Improvement. You’ve supported a system conversion or helped integrate platforms such as a CRM or HR system. You spot issues before they escalate, identify problems, research solutions, and make smart recommendations.

Six Ways To Grow Into These Responsibilities

• Lead Process Improvements. Identify an inefficiency, such as a manual process, unclear control, or error-prone workflow. Propose and implement a solution. Involve other stakeholders and document the results.
• Be a Finance Liaison Across Departments. Volunteer to serve as the point of contact for budgeting or reporting needs in a specific department or program. Build relationships with program leaders, help them understand financial metrics, and create guides or tools to support their decision-making.
• Support Budget Development and Forecasting. Seek out opportunities to contribute to department-level budgets or reforecasts. Provide guidance to non-financial staff and help translate their goals into financial projections.
• Broaden Your Technical Knowledge. Crosstrain in other areas of finance (such as grants management, audit preparation, or internal controls) to deepen your operational knowledge. Ask to participate in audit prep or work directly with auditors.
• Expand Your Role in Monthly Close and Reporting. Ask to take the lead on complex balance sheet account reconciliation.
• Own and Improve a Reporting Process. Ask to take charge of a recurring financial report and optimize it to make it more useful for program staff. Explain the report’s key takeaways in plain language to stakeholders.

Senior-Level Finance and Accounting Job Qualifications

If you’re aiming for a senior-level finance or accounting role at a nonprofit or association with job titles like Director of Finance or Controller, here are the qualifications that hiring managers typically prioritize:

• Education and Certifications. You have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. A CPA is often preferred, and a master’s degree or CMA can strengthen your qualifications.
• Communication and Influence. You think beyond the immediate transactional work, help staff understand how their work is impacted by financial realities, and educate staff on financial concepts. Staff turn to you for advice because you explain things clearly and earn trust across departments.
• Operational and Strategic Oversight. You’re a thought partner to the executive team, contributing to strategy discussions and helping others understand financial implications. You lead financial modeling that supports strategic planning, connecting budgets to outcomes. You develop business cases for new initiatives, advise on timing and tradeoffs, and highlight compliance, legal, and ethical considerations.
• Leadership and Collaboration. You’ve built and mentored a capable finance team that manages daily operations effectively. You delegate, cross-train, and actively develop your staff’s skills. You roll up your sleeves when necessary and balance strategic leadership with direct involvement in core functions.
• Reporting and Compliance. You oversee accurate, timely preparation of financial statements, forecasts, regulatory filings, and member or board reports. You manage the audit process and ensure full compliance.
• Process and Systems Improvement. You identify opportunities to improve processes and streamline systems, using SOPs and automation to increase efficiency. You’ve led efforts to accelerate close cycles or optimize workflows.

Six Ways To Position Yourself for Senior Executive Roles

• Connect Finance to Strategy. Analyze how broader economic, business, or policy trends affect your organization’s finances. Propose an idea that could strengthen the organization’s financial position. Read this for more tips to introduce strategic thinking into your current role.
• Participate in Organization-Wide Conversations. Look for opportunities to contribute your financial expertise in conversations in cross-functional planning, whether that’s with department heads, senior leadership, or the board.
• Make Financial Reporting Actionable. Create customized dashboards or reports that help business units manage their budgets more effectively. Explain financial concepts in practical terms and guide them in using their budgets throughout the fiscal year.
• Coach Non-Financial Staff. Provide individualized support to help colleagues feel confident using financial tools and reports. Tailor your coaching style to meet people where they are—building their skills and strengthening collaboration across departments.
• Lead a Process Improvement Effort. Identify a gap or inefficiency in your organization’s financial operations or reporting. Design and implement a solution, such as a new internal control, workflow, or system enhancement, and track its impact over time.
• Ensure Ongoing Compliance and Learning. Stay up to date on tax law changes, nonprofit accounting standards, and regulatory developments. Share key updates with your team and create a plan to maintain collective expertise through training or updated procedures.

C-Suite Finance and Accounting Job Qualifications

If you’re aiming for a top leadership finance or accounting role at a nonprofit or association with job titles like Chief Financial Officer or Vice President of Finance, here are the qualifications that hiring managers typically prioritize:

• Education and Certifications. You have a CPA, MBA, or other advanced certifications that demonstrate financial and business acumen.
• Strategic Leadership. You understand the business drivers behind each program area and strike a balance between financial stewardship and advancing the mission. You serve as a key strategic advisor to the CEO and leadership team.
• Financial Planning and Revenue Strategy. You optimize revenue by identifying funding risks and opportunities, responding to external factors like economic and political shifts, and using financial systems to deliver data-driven insights. You develop and maintain reliable cash flow projection models and manage reserves and investments to ensure the organization can respond to short-term needs while planning for long-term sustainability.
• Communication and Change Management. You present impact-focused financial narratives to boards, committees, and senior leaders to drive informed decision-making. You guide your team and peers through financial and operational change.
• Operational Oversight. You lead annual budgeting and long-range financial planning, with clear processes and dashboards. You also manage internal controls, lead audits, and oversee outsourced services such as payroll or AP. You partner closely with leaders in HR, IT, and Operations.
• Team Leadership and Development. You’ve built and led a high-performing, service-oriented finance team. You’ve managed staff across multiple departments (e.g., operations, IT, HR). You coach your teams on both technical and job-relevant soft skills and approach team structure and development with a succession planning mindset.
• Process and Systems Improvement. You continuously evaluate and refine processes and systems to align financial operations with strategic goals and leverage emerging technology, including automated tools and AI.
• Sector Knowledge. You bring deep expertise in fund accounting, grant budgeting, and compliance. You’ve managed large or complex grant portfolios and understand how restricted and unrestricted funds flow through the organization. You consider how financial decisions impact staff equity, operational sustainability, and organizational culture.

Six Ways To Set Yourself Apart as a C-Level Finance Leader

• Immerse Yourself in the Sector. Deepen your understanding of nonprofit or association operations, governance, and funding models. If you lack direct experience, consider pro bono projects, board service, or informational interviews with nonprofit leaders. Study sector-specific financial management practices.
• Connect Finance to Mission Execution. Engage directly with program leaders to understand their goals and challenges. Offer financial analysis that clarifies the resource needs and impact of strategic initiatives. Help translate program ambitions into clear revenue targets and sustainable funding plans.
• Build Cross-Functional Relationships. Cultivate trust with the board, executive leadership, and staff across departments. Partner closely with development, marketing, and program teams to align financial strategy with organizational priorities. Be proactive in mentoring and supporting staff outside of formal structures.
• Make Financial Data Actionable. Present financial information in formats tailored to your audience (dashboards for the board, visual reports for program staff, or fundraising metrics for development). Focus on relevance, clarity, and storytelling to ensure your data drives informed decisions.
• Coach and Communicate with Authority and Empathy. Practice communicating difficult truths in a calm, objective way. Learn to make neutral, well-reasoned business cases, even when delivering unpopular recommendations. Use data to support your points and offer solutions alongside challenges.
• Mentor Beyond the Finance Team. Invest in developing leadership capacity across the organization. Coach your own team in both technical skills and relationship-building, while also equipping non-financial staff to better understand and use financial information in their roles.

Tips To Stand Out at Any Level

The lists above reflect trends of what we typically hear from hiring managers during our executive searches for nonprofit and association finance professionals, but they are by no means exhaustive. Before you apply for any role:

• Read the job description closely and align your resume with the required skills. Describe your accomplishments in terms of measurable outcomes and impact, including the scope and scale of any initiative. Here are a few more useful tips to improve your resume.
• Get crystal clear on how to talk about your competitive advantage. Be ready to highlight the things you do better than most and how your skills will benefit the organization you want to work for.
• Include relevant keywords throughout your resume and LinkedIn profile. While the Staffing Advisors team reviews all resumes individually, many recruiters now use AI or automated systems to screen applications based on keywords. If you’re not sure which keywords to include, start with the job description, review the organization’s website, and review job descriptions of similar roles in other organizations to find common phrases. Here’s a quick guide to what recruiters want to see in your LinkedIn profile.

If you found this article looking for a finance or accounting role, check our careers page for current job opportunities.

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