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Kintera Offers 18 Steps to Financial Compliance for the Nonprofit Sector
[November 02, 2005]

Kintera Offers 18 Steps to Financial Compliance for the Nonprofit Sector


By Susan J. Campbell
 
As nonprofit organizations are facing closer examination from donors, the public, the press and others, nonprofit managers have to establish set principles for accountability, transparency and fraud prevention. Kintera Fundware, maker of donor and financial management software specifically for the nonprofit and government sector, has just released a report entitled “Proactive Strategies: Accountability, Transparency & Fraud Prevention in Nonprofit Organizations.”


 
This paper highlights 18 proactive steps that nonprofit managers can take to streamline financial reporting to ensure that these organizations are indeed stewards of the money with which they have been entrusted. The steps highlighted include:

 
·   up-to-date conflict of interest policies;
·   commissioning an outside audit;
·   establishing a strategic plan;
·   practicing proper communication with the community;
·   annually training the executive board on reading and understanding financial reports;
·   developing mandatory retention and periodic document destruction policies;
·   publicizing board meeting dates and times;
·   posting 990 and 990T reports on the organization’s website;
·   developing whistleblower protection policies;
·   avoiding loans to staff and/or board members;
·   complying with auditor’s suggestions on separation of duties;
·   including a management letter with the audit;
·   establishing a separate audit committee of the board of directors;
·   posting the annual strategic plan on the organization’s website;
·   developing financial reports specific to staff areas of responsibility;
·   having the CEO or COO of the organization sign the 990 and other financial documents;
·   urging board members to attend all meetings;
·   purchasing directors and officers insurance.  
 
These recommended steps will allow for nonprofit organizations to accommodate changes expected in the financial arena which may be similar to the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations that govern publicly traded companies.
 
Kintera Fundware or Kintera Inc. services more than 15,000 nonprofit, government and corporate clients through their software and web-based applications. Kintera offers nonprofits assistance in delivering to donors "The Giving Experience," which includes “giving convenience, financial transparency, feedback about the social impact of their gifts, and a sense of belonging and appreciation.”
 
Kintera partnered with Peter Brinckerhoff, president of Corporate Alternatives Inc. in producing these recommended steps for the nonprofit sector.
 
Kintera’s products include fundraising programs, web based giving applications, on-line payment options for grant requests and major giving and financial management software to assist nonprofits in complying with financial regulations.
 
There used to be a fine and discernible line between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. While it is not fair to say that one was considered better than the other, there was a perception that nonprofit entities were pure and honest organizations whose intentions were only to fulfill the purpose for which they were created, whether it was for the arts, the ill, animals, etc.
 
Now, in an age where C-level employees are being indicted for embezzlement, fraud and other such corruptions, accountability has taken on a whole new meaning throughout organizations of all kinds. It is no longer assumed that appearances represent the true story and that reality is coming to the forefront in the nonprofit sector.
 
These 18 steps offer sound advice for nonprofit financial management so that the financial face of the organization stays the same no matter the audience.
 
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing writer for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com.
 

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