Sixteen if you count the implicit assumption that there is actually a board.


http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/NR/ ... npublished

I have little to do with the financial side of the various groups I belong to, but I read the article, and thought, those policies are the result of many bitter lessons over the years. Just as every page of a safety manual can be said to have been "written in blood", we can also say that every item in the article has been paid for by dollars down the drain.

we can also say that every item in the article has been paid for by dollars down the drain.

True. As bad as that is however, worse is missed opportunities in pursuing the organizational the organizational missions. Its one thing if you have stumbles along the way, but there's plenty of organizations that have shuttered their doors because stuff spun out of control, volunteers and donors became disgusted.

There's actually nothing that new in the article, it's just a recap of information that every large 501c3 hast to report to IRS on it's 990 form.

Not bad info, but just something any CPA that deals with non profits should already know.

Bob H

"Not bad info, but just something any CPA that deals with non profits should already know."


While that is pretty much true, the fact that it was published in the JOA suggests that the AICPA's editorial board thought it not to be universal knowledge, even among CPA's.

It certainly isn't well known in the tax exempt community, where there is often a lack of financial knowledge and a misbelief that organizational formalities are unnecessary unless you are a million dollar organization.

The professional's job cannot possibly be to know everything. However he needs to know what he doesn't know, and needs to know how to learn it. And his manner in doing that defines his competence.

Hence, his subscription to magazines like this, and/or discovery of same in a relevant search.