Sponsor article from Dean Dorton, 2/19/2026

How Modern Grant Management Builds Trust, Transparency and Efficiency

by Philip Massey, CPA

Grant management has changed significantly in the last ten years. What used to be mainly an administrative accounting task is now a strategic skill that affects compliance, funder trust, cash flow, and long-term viability. Nonprofits are no longer just asked to report how grant money was spent afterward, but to manage those funds carefully and openly in real time—often across multiple grants, programs, and funding sources simultaneously.

Yet many organizations still rely on outdated accounting systems that were never designed to address today’s grant management challenges. As expectations increase, these limitations become a significant operational and financial risk.

The New Reality of Grant Oversight

Compliance Is More Complex—and Less Forgiving

Updates to Uniform Guidance, higher audit thresholds, increased cybersecurity scrutiny, and expanded oversight of subrecipients have elevated the standards for compliance. Nonprofits must consistently demonstrate proper controls, accurate cost allocations, and timely documentation. Relying on manual processes and static account structures makes this more difficult, leaving organizations vulnerable not only during audits but throughout the entire grant lifecycle.

Transparency and Real-Time Accuracy Are Now Expected

Funders expect continuous insight into how their funds are used—not just at the end of a grant period but throughout. While formal grant reporting might be done semi-annually or annually, grant drawdowns are often a monthly process, and outdated systems cause the greatest strain and risk during this time.

When finance teams rely on spreadsheets or manual reconciliations to prepare drawdowns, the process becomes slow, error-prone, and difficult to validate. In contrast, real-time visibility into allowable costs, remaining balances, and grant restrictions allows organizations to prepare drawdowns more efficiently and confidently, knowing the data is accurate and up-to-date.

Manual Processes Create Risk Around Cash Flow and Revenue Recognition

Legacy systems often face challenges with one of the most complex parts of grant accounting: revenue recognition for conditional funding, which represents the majority of federal grant revenue. Without the ability to accurately track expenses against grant conditions in real time, organizations risk recognizing revenue too early or too late, leading to compliance issues and inaccuracies in financial statements.

Modern grant management processes help ensure that revenue is recognized properly as conditions are fulfilled, while still clearly distinguishing between restricted and unrestricted funds. Achieving this level of precision is difficult—if not impossible—to sustain in systems that rely heavily on manual workarounds.

The Cost of Standing Still

Organizations that continue to operate on outdated accounting platforms face real consequences: Read more...