Welcome
Welcome to Warren Averett's First Edition of "Insights for Nonprofits". As our Firm continues to grow (with the recent addition of our Tampa and Atlanta offices), one of the benefits that our clients will enjoy are additional resources. Our Atlanta office has created an insightful newsletter for nonprofits, and we are happy to be able to share the same informative information with you. This issue covers today's sophisticated schemes and fraud trends for nonprofits, tips for taking and presenting board minutes and introduces a new resource for nonprofits who've been awarded a federal government grant or loan. In addition, check out the tips to improve your nonprofit audit RFP template. Enjoy!
Tammy McGaughy
Not-for-Profit Practice Group Leader
Member, Warren Averett |
These Are Not Your Grandparents' Fraud Risks |
Whatever happened to the good old days when your chief fraud concerns were someone pocketing cash from the till or writing a check to themselves? Even the infamous Charles Ponzi's then-sophisticated scheme from the 1920s pales in comparison to the antics dreamed up by today's would-be fraudsters.
Not to be forgotten, the tried and true check-writing schemes, false credit card receipts or expense reimbursements and fake employees are still alive and well; they routinely rank among the more frequently perpetrated schemes as reported by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in their Report to the Nations study on occupational fraud and abuse. But traditional schemes have moved into the next generation and grow more complicated and difficult to detect. The traditional scams are also joined by more high-tech and far-reaching methods that involve identity theft, data intrusion, phishing and other varieties of cybercrime. Link |
Tips to Improve your Nonprofit Audit RFP Template |
Is your organization planning to put your nonprofit audit services out to bid this year? The AICPA and various other nonprofit industry associations offer free downloadable templates for nonprofit audit RFPs (requests for proposal).
These templates are very thorough and conveniently accessible for nonprofit organizations. However, if left untailored they can result in proposals filled with lengthy technical explanations to read and very little "meat" that addresses the core reason(s) you are seeking a new provider. Link |
GAQC Auditee Resource Center |
Congratulations! Your nonprofit organization has been awarded a grant or loan from the federal government. Where can you find information about all of the rules and regulations that are tied to your new funding source? Or, perhaps you've been a grantee for years and want to learn about best practices for grant compliance or preparing for an audit. Where can you go for this information?
Link |
How Effective Are Your Board Minutes? |
Meetings take valuable time, so it's crucial to ensure that board meetings are productive and worth the expense and time involved. Two ingredients necessary for productive meetings are a strong chairperson and accurate minutes. A strong chair has the ability to help the group achieve its goals within a specific time frame, and accurate minutes help participants remember exactly what happened and the details they might have missed during the meeting. Link |