Category: Meetings

January 27, 2022: Planning for Reserves

NPFM

Nonprofit organizations need to build and maintain sufficient reserves, as a subset of available, unrestricted net assets, to provide a cushion to offset potential deficits and safeguard against unforeseen events. Having insufficient reserves can put an organization at risk while having excess reserves can also be of concern.

To start, how do you, as a nonprofit financial manager, determine what is the right level of reserves for your organization? What goals should your board set and what strategies should you follow in building, segregating, investing, and classifying reserves? What types of reserves should your organization consider? There is no one-size-fits-all approach; each organization has unique characteristics in terms of liquidity, growth, risk, the nature of operations, level of existing unrestricted net assets, etc.

These are just some of the questions that will be addressed in our upcoming presentation by Jennifer Olivier, Signing Director, and Melissa Murphy, Manager, from CLA. Jen and Melissa will share some basic concepts and best practice guidelines related to reserves as well as more in-depth considerations for those of you wanting to take your reserves strategy to the next level.

Presenters: CliftonLarsonAllen (CPAs)

https://www.claconnect.com/

Jennifer Olivier, Signing Director, and Melissa Murphy, Manager, from CLA

Resources:

2022-01-27 NPFM mtg CLA PPt on Reserves

December 3, 2021: Values-Based Compensation Structures

NPFM
Title: Values-Based Compensation Structures
 
Description:

How we operate, internally and externally, reflects what is important to our organizations and is ideally aligned with organizational values. Between the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act and urgency around racial equity, paying people fairly and consistently is more of a priority than ever. While that notion is simply good common sense, figuring out how to operationalize it is more complicated. Join us on December 2nd to:

Hear about how some organizations reflect their values through compensation:

  • Learn about the three roles a compensation structure can serve in your organization
  • Identify key questions every group should consider when developing an equitable compensation structure
  • Understand elements of equitable pay structures
  • Take away a step-by-step approach for developing your own equitable salary structure

Speaker:

Lyn Freundlich, M.S., C.P.C, has over 30 years of experience working in and with mission oriented nonprofit organizations.  She has consulted with over 100 nonprofits and trained thousands of nonprofit supervisors and staff, in large, international organizations and tiny, member-drive, local ones. She has served in Executive, Human Resources, Operations, and Director level roles. Her practice, Change for Good Coaching and Consulting (www.change4goodconsulitng.org), provides coaching and training for nonprofits and small businesses and helps organizations design and implement values-based systems and processes. She also has and continues to serve on numerous nonprofit and community boards.

Powerpoint Slides for 11.29.21

Sample Job Group Worksheet

October 28, 2021: Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave

NPFM

Title: Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave: how to implement the PFML law and integrate with existing benefits and paid time off policies

Description

The PFML law became effective in January 2021. Some organizations are scrambling to make sense of it and how to implement it, and there are several different ways to do this. The law provides an opportunity to consider these options, based on the priorities, values and resources of the organization. In this session you will learn about some of these options and hear about critical things to do and to avoid. Fred Ritzau, an independent HR consultant, will present.

September 30, 2021: Managing Financial Risk : Key Areas for Consideration

NPFM

Title: Managing Financial Risk : Key Areas for Consideration

Description: The Nonprofit Risk Management Center devoted their May newsletter to the topic of financial risk management. One of the interviewees was Ed Mulherin CPA, Esq, founder and CEO of eCratchit Nonprofit, an outsourcing resource for non-profits. Ed cited three key areas of risk: access to timely, accurate financial information; liquidity and the size of their operating reserves; adequacy of staffing and salaries. Located in Boston, eCratchit serves 150 non-profit organizations across the country, giving Ed the perspective to help all of us to become better prepared in addressing the risks we face.

June 24, 2021: Managed Accounting Services

NPFM
Title: Managed Accounting Services
Summary: Joyce Ripianzi from AAF will be presenting and will address these questions:
  • What does it mean to outsource the accounting function?
  • When does it make sense to outsource?
  • What internal capacities are needed at your organization to ensure that outsourcing is successful?

Speaker:  Joyce is a Partner in the Consulting Division of AAFCPAs and a member of the firm’s growing Managed Accounting Solutions (MAS) practice, which provides “right-size” outsourced accounting solutions, from cloud-based bookkeeping to CFO deliverables, designed to optimize the effectiveness of the modern finance function. Joyce has 30+ years of diverse experience in public accounting at national and regional CPA and consulting firms. She is also a former CFO of an 18-million-dollar organization.