Developing financial management skills in a community organisation using scaffolding: A pilot study

Abstract

The third sector literature argues that organizational capacity is important for community organizations to achieve their missions. Financial Management Skills (FMS) are important for the enhancement of capacity that supports the effective operations, accountability viability and governance of community organizations. However, many community organisations lack the necessary understanding of financial management. This paper examines the use of scaffolding to develop financial management skills in a community organisation. Participants completed a pre-test to determine the level of FMS and a post-test after the scaffolding sessions. The results indicate that scaffolding was effective in developing the participant's FMS. However, the time spent on each phase of the scaffolding learning cycle may influence the effectiveness of the method.