Client Name

The Dawood Foundation

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Haroon Tabraze

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Investment Decision Making

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

This project fits under the investment decision making area because it focused on helping The Dawood Foundation make more informed financial decisions through improved treasury reporting. As a team, we assessed the current state of the treasury function, identified the most critical reports needed, and developed structured templates to streamline and standardize reporting. These tools were designed to support better planning, cash flow management, and data-driven decision-making. By working closely with the CFO and Assistant Manager, we ensured that the final outputs were aligned with the organization’s strategic financial goals and everyday decision-making processes.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Aligned SDGs Justification

Our project supports Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth by helping The Dawood Foundation improve the way it manages and plans its finances. Through better treasury reports and clear dashboards, we’ve made it easier for the organization to track its income and expenses, forecast cash flow, and make more informed decisions. This kind of financial clarity allows them to run their programs more smoothly including those focused on education, science, and community development. In the long run, this helps create stable jobs, supports better planning of social initiatives, and contributes to stronger, more sustainable economic growth within the nonprofit space.

NDA

Yes

Abstract

Abstract

In today’s dynamic financial environment, the effective management of cash and liquidity is not just a back-office function but a strategic enabler for an organization’s overall performance. This report presents a practical exploration of treasury operations at The Dawood Foundation (TDF), focusing on key treasury functions such as budgeted cash flows, daily bank positions, and short-term investment planning. Utilizing tools like Power BI and Excel, the report demonstrates how digital dashboards can enhance visibility, improve decision-making, and support the long-term sustainability of nonprofit foundations. The project was developed under the Experiential Learning Project (ELP) initiative in partnership with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA).

Our team collaborated with the Foundation’s CFO and designed mock-up financial reports based on realistic and publicly available information. The centrepiece of our analysis was the budgeted cash flow dashboard—one of the most critical documents in any treasury department. Supported by auxiliary reports like daily bank summaries, the final deliverables reflect how nonprofit organizations can improve operational transparency and planning rigor. This ELP project also reinforces several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), by applying academic frameworks to real-world social impact contexts.

Furthermore, the project contributes to the thought leadership area of digital finance transformation within nonprofits, a topic gaining increasing traction in financial management circles. Through a comprehensive methodology involving Excel modelling, data transformation, Power BI visualizations, and stakeholder engagement, this report provides a replicable template for future treasury modernization efforts. Ethical considerations, data structuring challenges, and post-project reflections are also addressed, giving the reader an in-depth view of the process behind the dashboard. Ultimately, the work showcases how students can act as catalysts for innovation within legacy institutions by bridging academic knowledge with applied financial tools.

The methodology involved initially understanding TDF revenue model, which is centered on rental income from the Dawood Centre, Dawood Public School, and the MagnifiScience Centre, as well as dividend income from strategic investments. Based on this, a comprehensive Excel model was created, which detailed monthly inflows and outflows, culminating in net cash flow and closing balances. The model incorporated actual versus budgeted performance, laying the groundwork for strategic variance analysis. The Power BI dashboard then transformed these numbers into a narrative accessible to non-financial stakeholders. Additionally, the project emphasized cross-functional learning and collaboration. Each team member engaged in tasks beyond their specialization, ensuring exposure to financial modeling, Power BI dashboard creation, data visualization, and professional communication. One of the key challenges faced was the unavailability of real-time financial data from TDF CFO, which required the team to devise hypothetical, yet realistic figures based on secondary data, such as website insights and publicly disclosed financial reports. The iterative back-and-forth with data formatting, Power BI compatibility, and Excel formula linking revealed the real-world complexity of building dashboards that were both dynamic and user-friendly.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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