Advanced Course
Applied Association Financial Strategy
The two association-finance volumes as one advanced course — first learn to read what an association's money is telling you, then learn to tell the money what to do.
Combines Books 3 & 4 of the FOAM Series — Association Financials and Association Financial Strategy — e-books included. Delivered fully online.
What's Included
- Both association-finance volumes as one course
- Association Financials — FOAM Book 3 (e-book)
- Association Financial Strategy — FOAM Book 4 (e-book)
- Reading, reconciling, budgeting, and long-range planning
- Fully online — self-paced
- 12 months of Quorum Premium access
One-time. Opens September 2026.
Before you enroll
This is an advanced program. It assumes a working foundation in association operations and comfort with financial and mathematical reasoning — you'll build budgets, run variance analysis, and work through reserve and capital-planning math.
We recommend completing either the Manager Fundamentals (FOAM Book 1) or the Board Member Fundamentals(FOAM Book 2) course first. It isn't a hard requirement, but enrollment isn't advised without that body of knowledge in place.
Course Curriculum
Two volumes, one path: read the money first, then direct it. Nine chapters per volume, grouped into three parts each.
Association Financials
What the Money Is Telling You
Part I — The Discipline
- Why Association Accounting Is Its Own Discipline
- The Equation, Debits, Credits, and What Hits the Ledger
- Cash vs. Accrual and the Chart of Accounts
Part II — The Five Documents That Run the Packet
- The Balance Sheet, Fund by Fund
- The Income Statement — Operating, Reserve, and the Twelve-Month View
- The General Ledger, AR Aging, AP Register, and Bank Reconciliation
Part III — Reading, Reconciling, and Speaking
- When the Numbers Don't Tie
- Year-End: Audits, Reserve Studies, Resale Certificates
- The Thirty-Minute Review and the Conversation with Your Board
Association Financial Strategy
Telling the Money What to Do
Part I — The Manager's Lens
- Why Managerial Accounting Looks Different in a Nonprofit Community
- Cost Behavior and Expense Structure in Associations
- Income Planning and the Assessment Decision
Part II — Budgeting as a Management System
- Building a Budget That Decides, Not Just Balances
- Cash Flow, Liquidity, and Delinquency as Strategy
- Variance, Indicators, and Diagnosing What the Community Is Telling You
Part III — Long-Range Stewardship
- Reserve Studies as Managerial Tools
- Capital Budgeting, Special Assessments, and Differential Analysis
- Communicating Financial Meaning and Delivering the Long-Range Plan
Enrollment opens in September.
Join the waitlist and we'll email you the moment Applied Association Financial Strategy opens — with your place held and enrollment pricing confirmed.
Independence Notice: The Common Interest Community Standards Council (CICSC) is an independent organization and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Community Associations Institute (CAI) or the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB). CICSC credentials and professional development certificates are independent of CAI designations and CAMICB certifications. CICSC does not issue, administer, or replace any credential offered by CAI or CAMICB.
Disclaimer: CICSC provides educational resources, governance standards, and practical advisory support. CICSC does not provide legal advice, accounting advice, tax advice, engineering advice, insurance advice, or reserve study services. Board members and associations should consult qualified professionals for matters requiring professional judgment or legal interpretation.