Category: Meetings

June 2015: Implementing the New MA Earned Sick Leave regulations

NPFM

June 2015 Meeting:

Implementing the New MA Earned Sick Leave regulations

Saleha Walsh from Insource Services, Inc. gave a presentation about implementing the new MA Earned Sick Leave regulations.  Saleha is a seasoned human resources and general operational management professional with 20 years of experience as a troubleshooter. Insource Services Inc. offers: full department outsourcing; generally part-time and long term; “a la carte” services including recruiting; assessments; trainings; and project/Interim assignments.
Under the new Massachusetts Sick Leave law, organizations must offer the following sick leave provisions: paid sick leave where there are 11 or more FTEs; carry-over of at least 5 days required; mandatory notice requirements; and earned sick leave that runs concurrently with other leaves (FMLA, etc.).

The new law applies to any person who performs services for wages, including the following categories: full-time or part-time; seasonal; employees paid on a fee-for-service or piece work will accrue sick time based on a reasonable measure of the time employees work (for example, adjunct faculty compensated on a fee-for-service or “per-course” basis shall be deemed to work 3 hours for each “classroom hour” worked); temporary employees; and paid interns. The important dates to keep in mind for implementing this new law are: July 1, 2015 – compliance with basic provisions required by all organizations; and December 31, 2015 – Safe Harbor policy development extension date for organizations with existing paid sick leave policies. Read More

May 2015: Capitalization and Fixed Assets: What You Don’t Know but Should

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May 28, 2015 Meeting:

Capitalization and Fixed Assets: What You Don’t Know but Should

Capitalization and depreciation may not seem like an exciting topic but it is important. What is your capitalization threshold, and why? Do you group all new purchases together and depreciate them or expense them if they are under the threshold? What non-physical items, such as website development, databases and equipment installation can be capitalized? What are best practices for capital budgeting and how do you fund capital purchases and allocate their expense? What about upcoming changes to fixed assets by FASB? This session will be practical information about this topic and an opportunity to ask questions.

The presenter was Alexandria Regan, an audit partner at KAF (Kirkland, Albrecht and Fredrickson), specializing in not-for-profit clients.

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April 2015 You can’t save your way to sustainability

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April 30, 2015 Meeting:

You can’t save your way to sustainability

For most nonprofits, merely maintaining the financial status quo is generally not viable. Organizations need to develop strategies for long-term sustainability, not only for the organization itself, but for continuity of the mission. Too often, boards and CFOs try to set and meet profitability targets by focusing on the spending side of the budget, but it’s usually growth in revenue and support that provides the most effective basis for ongoing resource mobilization. David Orlinoff, a former nonprofit CFO, led the discussion about the group’s  respective experiences with sustainability strategies and how to identify ways we can be helpful to our organizations in reaching stronger financial positions. David has been providing financial and strategic consulting and financial and operating management services for the past 30 years and is a principal at Concord Financial Organization.

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March 2015: Assessing IT Risk and Mitigation

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March 2015 Meeting:

Assessing IT Risk and Mitigation

Russell Greenwald, Vice President and Director, Technology Consulting Practice at Insource Services, Inc. gave a presentation that outlined areas of possible risk in your organization in relation to databases, files, email, computer network, and personnel. He also covered how to rate the risks, prioritize them and determine next steps.  Russell has been consulting with nonprofits, for-profits, and technology companies for the past 14 years. Read More

February 2015: How to Think about Capitalization for Nonprofits of Every Size

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February 2015 Meeting: How to Think about Capitalization for Nonprofits of Every Size

Beth Doreian, Senior Associate at the Boston office of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, gave a presentation on the topic of capitalization. Prior to NFF, Beth was Director of Finance and Administration at Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development and Controller at Root Capital. Board members and management toss around terms like operating reserves and cash reserves and there is not always consensus on what is meant. How much is enough? How do you figure out how much is enough? What do you count toward operating reserves, anyway? Are your operating reserves reported on regularly on the balance sheet as a separate item? And for those lucky enough to have this problem, how much is too much?
Beth addressed some of those questions.

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