Supporting Nonprofit Accountability—a community-based solution Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) While many foundations require financial accountability, oversight and good governance practices, here’s one innovative foundation that actually makes it happen!  Recently, we had the opportunity to present our 501(c)(fit!) Financial Leadership Training Seminar in Wytheville, Virginia, an old place with new ideas for [...]

The Phantom Vendor Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) I love answering the door on Halloween.  We get a lot of princesses, superheroes and ghosts who look a lot like our neighborhood kids, along with some I just don’t recognize at all.  It doesn’t matter who’s behind the mask, though, everyone gets candy. Trick-or-treaters [...]

Do you have ghost employees? Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) As Halloween approaches, we love haunted houses, ghost walks and tales that make us look over our shoulder from time to time.  You know those stories.  Someone hears eerie noises, but when they investigate, no one’s there.  It must have been a ghost.  [...]

Your Audit – How’s it going? Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) Most nonprofit leaders have been involved in selecting an auditor.  Audited financial statements are key to obtaining grant money and supporting the Board’s oversight.  But most would agree that audits come with headaches when the audit doesn’t go as expected.  You’ve probably [...]

Risk and Your Reserve Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) We’ve all been involved in planning a charity event of some kind, a gala, a barbecue, a 5k.  When I’m involved in planning an event, I stress about what might go wrong, and I go into checklist mode. One time, I had a checklist [...]

Tales from the Balance Sheet Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) Question:  True or False—If you want to evaluate the money that went out of your organization, just review the expense section of your financial statements.  Answer:  False!  While you can evaluate outgoing payments by reviewing your recorded expenses, that’s not the whole story.    [...]

Providing Social Services— and staying afloat Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) If your organization provides government-funded social services, you know you’re among the nonprofits with the tightest budgets.  You probably accept it as part of delivering your mission.  Social service providers often depend on funding that just doesn’t cover the cost of the [...]

New Nonprofit GAAP – ready for liquidity reporting? Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) You can’t put it off any longer.  The year has come when you’ll have to implement the new nonprofit financial reporting GAAP.  While it’s true that you may not be putting together the financial statements for your audit until this [...]

New Nonprofit GAAP – ready for functional expense reporting? Joan M. Renner, CPA, CGMA, Director 501(c)(fit!) You can’t put it off any longer.  The year has come when you’ll have to implement the new nonprofit financial reporting GAAP.  While it’s true that you may not be putting together the financial statements for your audit until [...]

Understanding the Business Owners on Your Board—Governance Has this ever happened with one of your new Board members?  Bob, a local business owner, was excited to begin his term on your Board.  He came to every meeting and participated enthusiastically in Board discussions.  He had a lot of new ideas.  After a while, though, Bob’s [...]