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Consulting Services

  Activity Based Costing (ABC)  

External Audit

Internal Control and Internal Audit

As MicroFinance Institutions (MFIs) grow, they reach several critical junctures. Many MFIs successfully pass through these expansion points and grow; others fail to recognize they need help and stagnate. These junctures are (roughly) as follows:

Beginning

Growing

Institution Building
  • 0 – 3,000 borrowers
  • One office
  • 0 – 2 years of operations
  • 0% - 50% self-sufficient
  • Donor funded
    		•
  • 3,000 – 10,000 borrowers
  • 1 – 5 offices
  • 2 – 5 years of operations
  • 50% - 100% self-sufficient
  • Donor and debt funded
    		•
  • 10,000+ borrowers
  • 5+ branch offices
  • 5+ years of operations
  • 100%+ self-sufficient
  • Debt and equity funded

    • MFI Consulting supports MFIs as they navigate critical junctures with the following services:

    Financial Management *

    Beginning

    Growing

    Institution Building

    Assistance with budgets, targets, and tactical plans to reach them. Define key financial ratios and develop budget-to-actual reporting. Efficiency evaluation.

    Assistance with reducing donor dependency. Identify local and international expansion funding. Integrate financial planning and reporting strategies.

    Identify strategies to increase Return on Equity. Strategic plans for conversion to regulated status to leverage deposit mobilization from the general public.

    Internal Control Evaluation *

    Beginning

    Growing

    Institution Building

    Review and/or create internal controls. Identify potential segregation of duties issues.

    Test compliance with documented controls. Prepare for external independent audit

    Review the Internal Audit function, reporting systems, duties and responsibilities.

    Management Information Systems (MIS) Evaluation *

    Beginning

    Growing

    Institution Building

    Define key decision making information. Evaluate current system and compare to exiting "off-the-shelf" systems.

    Evaluate current system in light of program growth and information management needs. Evaluate branch and head office information needs.

    Evaluate deposit system, equity investor, and regional office reports. Prepare for Palm Pilot integration and/or loan portfolio securitization.

    At any level of development, an institutional diagnostic * will focus on increasing efficiencies, not just repeating on site interviews. And it will serve as a basis for submission to the Microbanking Bulletin.

    *All services are customized to every MFI. These examples are hypothetical suggestions only.