Lumix CPAs and Advisors

01/17/2020

If your nonprofit has goodwill or intangible assets contact your CPA or auditor to learn how this update to accounting standards may affect your balance sheet.

01/10/2020

Almost a year after the longest government shudown in US history, what is one lesson learned helped you manage your finances better or that you wish you would have done?

01/03/2020

Two important takeaways from this article. It is important to understand your nonprofit's business model when creating a cash flow projection tool. Once the tool is in place and you can identify areas of weakness, managing these challenges effectively is a responsibility to be distributed across the organization.

How does cash flow impact—and how is it impacted by—the way a nonprofit does business? Fiscal Management Associates’ Hilda Polanco and John Summers discuss the number one critical component of any business: day-to-day liquidity.

01/01/2020

The Statement of Functional Expenses is now a requirement for all nonprofits. It provides very useful information to readers of the financial statement. It also helps a lot to understand how the information is aggregated for this report. This article simplifies the process and gives you a very useful primer on the mechanics of this report.

For auditors and preparers, functional expense analysis under FASB ASU 2016-14 will necessitate at least some rethinking of the approach to the allocation and reporting of functional expenses.

12/25/2019

Careful with that convenient button - it may require that you register for soliciting funds in all states that require it!

Step-by-step guide on how to add a facebook donation button to your fan page. Facebook is a great way to promote your nonprofit and keep people informed.

12/18/2019

I have seen this too many times! "If you're not careful, overly specific fundraising language can create restrictions that limit your ability to operate. Keep your accounting staff looped into the fundraising communications planning and approval process to avoid problems down the road."

Your nonprofit is on a mission. Like any other business, your work requires careful accounting and financial reporting. Unlike other businesses, your not-for-profit organization has special requirements on the use and reporting of restricted assets. As an auditor specializing in the nonprofit sector...

12/06/2019

Single Audits and their results are public documents. Search for your organization's filed Single Audit to make sure all documents and results are being reported properly.

12/04/2019

Is a "clean” opinion the final objective of the audit? There is so much more to that relationship and the questionnaire in this article helps you determine whether you are being well served.

Audits are expensive in terms of money, staff time, and board attention. CPA Dennis Walsh tells us how to wring the most value from them: An IRS tax audit has been described as an autopsy without the benefit of death. The financial statement audit — done by an independent CPA, not the IRS …

11/29/2019

Our firm uses Intacct for most of our nonprofit clients. The software allows us to slice and dice the data in ways that create meaningful reports. It is top of the line for the industry. The e-book is worth downloading to gain a better understanding of its strengths.

CEOs and nonprofit boards want the CFO to step up to a highly strategic role. Unfortunately, many CFOs are stuck as the gatekeeper of financial information and the organization’s historical scorekeeper—endlessly trying to crank out backward-looking reports for review.

11/27/2019

An auditor’s perspective of Single Audits for planning and what to expect. The major takeaway is that before having the auditors come in, make sure your controls are designed, documented and implemented effectively. "Looking at the control's design is critical. If it's not designed effectively, you can throw it out and not even spend time on it because it's not going to help you in the audit. Of course, you do need to report a finding if it's a significant deficiency or material weakness."

As a new regulation takes effect for single audits, practitioners need to plan carefully, and test and document skillfully as they perform this specialized work for clients.

11/22/2019

Do you create multi-year budgets? If you do, what has been the benefit of planning ahead?

11/21/2019

Scammers are getting more sophisticated and target individuals year around. Always be skeptical of any communication received from the IRS until you have confirmed directly with them on the phones they list on their website.

Correspondence season is in full swing. That means that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is sending out bills and notices to taxpayers. It may be hard for taxpayers to tell the real thing from the fakes - and scammers are taking advantage of the confusion. Here’s what you need to know.