March 28, 2024: Alternative Methods of Purchasing Employee BenefitsMarch 28, 2024:

Please join us for a panel presentation by representatives of government agencies and the broker community to explore ways to purchase employee benefits including health insurance and retirement plans. Representatives from the Massachusetts CORE Plan, The Massachusetts Health Connector, and Edan Barshan of Universal Benefit Plans will join us to discuss benefit purchasing options.  Edan will discuss a relatively new health insurance option (ICHRA – Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement)which could save your agency and employees a lot of money.

Resources:

ICHRA Presentation

MA Health Connector

Mass Core Plan

February 29, 2024: Managing Expenses and Payments Online

At this week’s NPFM meeting we’ll take a look at online platforms for expense reporting, payables, card management, and reimbursements. A team from CliftonLarsonAllen will give examples of how these functions can be simplified and automated, and will lead a discussion of current ecosystems. The goal is to provide an overview of the landscape, and to stimulate thinking on what will work for your organization. 

Our presenters from CLA are:

Dana Duffy, BizOps Controller. With 20 years of accounting experience working in both private/industry and public sectors, Dana specializes in supporting nonprofit clients, with hands-on experience developing accounting processes, managing financial controls, and helping clients get the most out of business and accounting software, including QBO and Bill.

Tom Pappas, BizOps Chief Financial Officer, focused on nonprofits: associations, human services, community development, religious, and technology groups. Tom is a senior level financial and operations professional with over 38 years of for-profit and non-profit experience. Prior to joining CLA, Tom worked for 9 years with a professional services firm that specialized in supporting nonprofit organizations. Tom has also served as Director of Finance and Administration for a social services non-profit and CFO of a long-standing non-profit preservation society.

Shannon Okey, Senior Technical Consultant, Product Leader for spend management solutions and Xero, with experience leading implementation of QBO, Bill, Tallie, Expensify, Right Networks and Airbase. Shannon has close to 4 years of software consulting experience and takes pride in onboarding and supporting clients with software that will help them button up their processes and run their business smoothly and efficiently.

Presentation Materials

November 30, 2023: Revenue Recognition and Grant Management

Joyce Ripianzi, CPA, Lauren M. Duplin, CPA, and Amy Staunton, CPA, from AAFCPAS, will give the presentation about revenue recognition and grant management and systems to support those functions.

They are experts in the field of non-profit accounting and management including accounting solutions, best practices, auditing and compliance standards, and non-profit finance.

The presentation will touch on the following topics:

1)     The principles of non-profit revenue recognition

2)     Information about Systems that do some or all of the following:

  • Collect the key data related to each grant (restrictions, conditions, whether it is a contribution or an exchange transaction) and appropriately code activity in the GL
  • Determine and meet reporting and other requirements
  • Separately record and report out on grant expenditures
  • Apply approved indirect costs
  • Calculate and release revenue from restricted to unrestricted and deferred to unrestricted (if applicable)
  • Manage differences between the grant life and fiscal years
  • Provide schedules for audit purposes
  • Maintain grant records (proposals, award letters, reports, etc.)

Presentation Materials

October 26, 2023: Cash Management Strategies and Tools

This month we will have a panel of experts who will share their knowledge and experience on how to manage the working capital resources that keep your organization running on a day-to-day basis. In more practical terms, what strategies and tools can be used so that cash doesn’t sit idle in an operating checking account or a  low-interest bank savings account.  Our panel will include:

  • Karen Kelley, Vice President of Operations, the McGovern Foundation
  • Mark Paley, Director of Administration and Finance, the Hyams Foundation
  • Todd Ellis, Managing Director of Client Accounting Services, Walter Shuffain CPAs
  • Thatcher Freeborn, Managing Director, SVB a division of First Citizens Bank

Resources:

Cash Management Slides

Sample Cash Management Policy

Sample Investment Policy