Position Overview

Duration: 2 weeks (10 business days)

Students: 1-2 students

Organizations: Food Trucks Association of Canada

This placement provides hands-on experience in financial data management and administrative record-keeping within the nonprofit sector.

Students will develop essential skills in accurate financial data entry, expense tracking, donor database management, and administrative reporting that are fundamental to accounting, finance, and business administration careers.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this placement, students will be able to:

• Execute accurate financial data entry with systematic verification
• Maintain and update donor and member databases with precision
• Process expense reports and financial documentation accurately
• Create administrative reports and summaries for management review
• Understand nonprofit financial record-keeping requirements
• Apply quality control measures to ensure data integrity

Week 1 Deliverables

Days 1-2: Financial Records Assessment & Setup

• Outcome: Understanding of financial data management systems and current accuracy levels
• Deliverable: Financial data audit including:
• Review of existing expense tracking and invoice processing
• Assessment of donor/member database completeness and accuracy
• Documentation of current filing and record-keeping systems
• Identification of missing or incomplete financial records

Days 3-5: Financial Data Entry & Processing

• Outcome: Accurate processing of financial transactions and donor information
• Deliverable: Completed financial data entry including:
• Input of 150-200 financial transactions (invoices, expenses, donations)
• Updated donor database with new contacts and gift histories
• Processed expense reports with proper categorization
• Reconciliation of data entry with source documents (99%+ accuracy)

Week 2 Deliverables

Days 6-7: Administrative Database Maintenance

• Outcome: Clean, organized administrative records with error identification system
• Deliverable: Database cleanup project including:
• Standardized contact information and address formatting
• Identification and flagging of duplicate records
• Update of member status and contact preferences
• Creation of data verification checklist for ongoing use

Days 8-10: Financial Reporting & Process Documentation

• Outcome: Professional administrative reports and improved record-keeping procedures
• Deliverable: Complete administrative package including:
• Monthly expense summary report with category breakdowns
• Donor database summary with giving trends and contact updates
• Administrative procedures manual for data entry consistency
• Error log and recommendations for preventing future mistakes
• Final presentation of data accuracy improvements and time savings

Specific Focus Areas

Financial Data Entry:

• Accurate input of invoices, receipts, and expense reports
• Proper coding of expenses to appropriate budget categories
• Verification of calculations and mathematical accuracy
• Consistent formatting of financial data and dates

Donor & Member Database Management:

• Updating contact information and communication preferences
• Recording donation histories and membership renewals
• Maintaining confidentiality of sensitive donor information
• Ensuring database completeness for marketing and outreach

Administrative Record-Keeping:

• Filing and organizing both physical and digital documents
• Creating systematic approaches to document retrieval
• Maintaining accurate logs of completed work
• Following nonprofit compliance requirements for record retention

Skills Development Focus

• Excel proficiency for financial calculations and data organization
• Attention to detail in numerical data and financial calculations
• Understanding of basic accounting principles and expense categories
• Professional communication for clarifying discrepancies
• Time management for meeting daily productivity targets

Success Metrics

• Accuracy Rate: Achieve 99%+ accuracy in all financial data entry
• Productivity: Complete target volume of entries within timeframe
• Error Detection: Identify and flag inconsistencies in existing records
• Process Improvement: Document time-saving recommendations
• Professional Quality: Deliver reports suitable for management review
• Administrative Skills: Demonstrate organized, systematic approach to record-keeping

Quality Control Measures

• Daily Reconciliation: Compare entered data against source documents
• Supervisor Review: Regular check-ins on accuracy and progress
• Error Documentation: Log all mistakes with corrective actions taken
• Verification Process: Double-check all financial calculations and totals
• Professional Standards: Maintain confidentiality and follow organizational protocols