A financial audit conducted by outside experts is among the most effective tools for revealing risks in not-for-profits. They help assure donors and other stakeholders about your stability — so long as you respond to the results appropriately.
In fact, failing to act on issues identified in an audit could threaten your organization’s long-term viability.
Continue Reading After Your Not-for-Profit’s Financial Audit…
Does your private foundation have a detailed conflict-of-interest policy? If it doesn’t — and if it doesn’t follow the policy closely — you could face IRS attention that results in penalties and even the revocation of your tax-exempt status.
Here’s how to prevent accusations of self-dealing.
Continue Reading Why Foundations Need Strong Conflict-of-Interest Policies
Employees or independent contractors? It’s not only for-profit companies that struggle with the question of how to classify workers for federal tax purposes. Not-for-profit organizations must withhold and pay Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes for employees, but not for contractors. (There may also be state tax responsibilities.)
But be careful before you decide that most of your staffers must be contractors. The IRS may not agree.
Continue Reading How to Classify Your NFP’s Workers for Tax Purposes
Not-for-profits increasingly are adopting a corporate world tool: financial dashboards. A dashboard is a summary of an organization’s progress toward a specific goal over time — or a snapshot of its current situation.
Dashboards are designed to help boards and other constituents visualize important metrics, or key performance indicators (KPIs). But to facilitate informed, timely decisions, it’s critical to select the right KPIs.
Continue Reading How Financial Dashboards Help Your NFP’s Financial Success
Current financial pressures mean that your not-for-profit probably can’t afford to pass up offers of support. Yet you need to be careful about blindly accepting grants. Smaller not-for-profits that don’t have formal grant evaluation processes are at risk of accepting grants with unmanageable burdens and costs. But large organizations also need to be careful because they have significantly more grant opportunities — including for grants that are outside their current expertise and experience.
Here’s how accepting the wrong grant may backfire in costly and time-consuming ways.
Continue Reading Considerations When Accepting New Grants for Your NFP
As PKF Texas continues its work-from-home strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm’s not-for-profit team hosted its first Zoom webinar titled “Adapting to New Daily Challenges Facing Not-for-Profits.”
PKF Texas Audit Senior Manager, Nicole Riley, CPA, CFE, moderated a panel with Matt Kuhlman, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Cenikor Foundation; and Jennifer
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, establishing and enforcing a code of ethical conduct is associated with 50% lower fraud losses.
Codes of conduct aren’t just about fraud prevention, though. Holding staffers and board members to an ethical code helps your not-for-profit communicate its values to the public and reassures supporters.
Continue Reading Does Your Not-for-Profit Have a Code of Ethical Conduct?
Not-for-profits sometimes team up with other entities to boost efficiency, save money and better serve both organizations’ constituencies. This can be a smart move — so long as your accounting staff knows how to report the activities of the two organizations. How you handle financial reporting depends on the nature of your new relationship.
Continue Reading Teaming Up with Another NFP for Financial Reporting
The Federal Reserve recently announced that not-for-profit organizations now may apply for loans under the $600 billion Main Street Lending Program. Previously open only to for-profit businesses with more than 100 employees, the program offers low-interest loans with relatively relaxed repayment terms.
If your organization needs funding to keep operating during this difficult period, a Main Street loan may be an option.
Continue Reading Your NFP Can Now Apply to the Main Street Lending Program
Want to increase your not-for-profit’s revenue? First try analyzing current income as a professional auditor might.
Then, you can apply your conclusions to setting annual goals, preparing your budget and managing other aspects of your organization.
Continue Reading Think Like an Auditor to Find New Revenue Opportunities