An alternative to a full audit

A homeschool leader in North Carolina recently wrote to me looking for help with doing an audit:

We offer boys and girls soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and cheerleading. In January we received our 501c3 status as a non-profit group. It is time for our annual audit, but I am not sure which way to go now and who to get to do the audit.

This group had bylaws that required their financial statements to be audited by qualified individuals.

For small nonprofits (revenues less than $25,000 per year), audits are rarely needed and are frequently too expensive and time consuming. Most nonprofit audits cost at least $3,000. Instead of an audit, I recommended changes to their bylaws and some practices and policies to help them be fiscally responsible, but not over burdened.

Some of my suggestions were:

• Separation of duties
• Monthly bank reconciliation
• Regular financial reporting to the board
• Create and monitor a budget

These practices do not replace the role of an full audit, but they help provide accountability.

Finally, I recommended they consider performing an internal audit occasionally. An internal audit can be preformed by volunteers from your organization. Here are a few websites that offer more information.

The following website explains internal audits for small churches and nonprofits:

http://www.freechurchaccounting.com/churchaudit.html

It also contains a checklist for conducting an internal audit

http://www.freechurchaccounting.com/support-files/internalauditchecklistguidelines.pdf

Does your group have good financial policies and practices? You can start with my article, Best Financial Practices for Homeschool Groups. It is available when you sign up for my newsletter here.

Also my ebook Money Management for Homeschool Organizations has advice and tips for properly handling the finances in your homeschool group. Ebook price $10
Read more here.

Here’s to keeping your homeschool group strong!

Carol Topp, CPA

HomeschoolCPA ebooks mentioned by HSLDA

I am pleased to announce that Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has mentioned several of my ebooks and articles on their Group Services webpage.

While homeschool groups are not HSLDA members, HSLDA does offer their group services staff, with more than twenty years experience in local and/or state support group leadership, to assist groups by providing examples of how other leaders have handled similar circumstances.

http://www.hslda.org/GroupServices/Leaders.aspx/Legal

On the Leader Support tab you’ll see Legal and Finaincial Resources and my ebooks are articles are metioned there including:

Money Management for Homeschool Organizations by Carol Topp, CPA. (e-book)

“How Do We Become a Recognized Nonprofit?” by Carol Topp, CPA

“Do We Need to Incorporate?” by Carol Topp, CPA

Q&A for Homeschool Leaders (e-book) by Carol Topp, CPA—The most frequently asked questions from homeschool leaders on the IRS, nonprofit and tax exempt status, boards, conflict, money, fund raising, volunteers, paying workers and insurance.

Thanks HSLDA in helping to assist homeschool leaders!

Carol Topp, CPA

Are fund raisers harming your chances for tax exempt status?

Many homeschool organizations depend on fund raisers to help run their homeschool co-ops and support groups. These fund raisers could actually harm a group’s chances of obtaining tax exempt status.

True Story:

Julie is treasurer of a homeschool co-op in OK that desires to file for 501c3 tax exempt status with the IRS. I examined her financial statements and saw that the group depended heavily on profit from fund raisers including candy, food and flower sales. These fund raisers required Julie to collect over $12,00o a year in sales. The co-op made a profit of nearly $4,000 every year from their fund raisers.

“It’s a blessing to the co-op, because many of our families cannot afford even the small co-op fees we charge. And friends and neighbors beg us to keep selling our products, especially the locally made food.”

The profit from the fundraisers was actually more than the amount collected in co-op dues.

Unfortunately, with most of the co-op’s income coming from fundraisers and not co-op fees, the IRS may not grant Julie’s co-op 501c3 tax exempt status.

The IRS requires a significant portion of your income come from public support (i.e., the dues from your co-op families) and not from an “unrelated businesses” (i.e. selling products in a fund raiser). The IRS defines “significant” as having more than 1/3 of your income come from public support.

Fortunately for Julie’s group, the IRS has several exceptions. One of them worked for Julie’s group. Her fund raising efforts were all done by volunteers and so the IRS considers that fund raiser as part of the group’s support and they meet the 1/3 test mentioned above.

The IRS rules and exceptions get a bit complicated and both the homeschool leader, Julie, and I did our research. We will be very careful and thorough when explaining the fund raising programs to the IRS when Julie’s co-op files for tax exempt status with the IRS.

If your group has concerns about their fund raising practices, these related blog posts might help:

The IRS’s Word on Fundraising Do’s and Don’ts

The IRS and Fund Raising

What does the IRS mean by not allowing “private benefit” in a fund raiser?

Also, my ebook, Question and Answers for Homeschool Leaders addresses fundraisers in detail.

Read more including a sample chapter here

Order a copy (in pdf format) for immediate dowload for $8.00 here.

…working to keep you on  the right side with the IRS!

_____________________________________

Finally, attend my free webinar on Fund Raising in a Homeschool Group on Tuesday, November 30 at 8:00 pm EST, 7:00 pm CT. You can listen in on-line and participate in the chat room or phone in and attend the webinar that way. For details on the login in information, phone number to call and workshop handout, click here.

Feel free to tell other homeschool leaders in your area about my webinar. The more, the merrier!

There is no charge for the webinar, except long distance phone charges if you call in .

Carol Topp, CPA

A budget can bring relief

My friends Kristen & Denise at Homeschool Group Leader have been running an interview they did with me as a blog series on leader burn out.

Embezzlement. Could It Happen in Your Group?

From the Ohio Society of CPAs comes this warning:

Small nonprofits ripe for embezzlement

They’re often diligent, caring workers, and yet tempted by seemingly easy cash.

Working on the inside, thieves can hit school groups, athletic leagues and churches, especially when they’re surrounded by trusting colleagues and loose security.

And according to one expert, because of the disgrace and embarrassment that the crime brings an organization, their transgressions often are not reported.

The median loss to fraud for religious, charitable and social-service organizations was $106,000 last year, according to an annual survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. “We estimate that organizations lose about 7% of their net worth to fraud each year,” said Scott Patterson, the association’s spokesman.

“There are so many people doing the good work that nobody steps back to say, ‘Should we begin looking at ourselves. We’ve grown. We better put some checks and balances in,’” said Gary Zeune, a fraud expert whose speakers bureau, “The Pros and Cons,” travels the country. “The only people who can steal you blind are those you trust and who don’t have controls.”

Smaller organizations, such as school parent-teacher organizations, are often vulnerable because neighbors and friends are reluctant to offend by suggesting that dishonesty is possible.

“This is typically mothers stealing from their own kids,” Shaw said. “The kids are the shills out there selling cookie dough or doing the walk-a-thon, and the mothers are stealing it.

“If the board is too embarrassed to have checks or balances, they need to have a new board,” she added. “But if you’re an honest person, you shouldn’t be insulted by having a second set of eyes.”

I’m sad to hear about embezzlement taking place in a homeschool groups, but I know from homeschool leaders that it can and does happen!

How can you prevent embezzlement?

1. Sign up for my newsletter (upper right corner of the website) and receive my report “Best Financial Practices for Homeschool Groups.” If you already belong to my mailing list and still want the reposrt drop me an email at Carol@HomeschoolCPA.com and Ill send you a copy.

2. Buy Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out. In the chapter “Money Management”  in I outline some guidelines for groups to avoid embezzlement such as:

• Have a separate checking account in the organization’s name
• Appoint a treasurer
• Have bank statements mailed to the board chair, not the treasurer
• Have the board chair, not the treasurer to sign checks
• Require regular financial reports
• Prepare a budget

Order your print or electronic copy here

3. Order my ebook Money Management for Homeschool Organizations. It  has helpful tips for keeping records and preparing reports for your group’s treasurer. Read a sample and order a copy here

Keeping you safe,

Carol Topp, CPA

Fraud in a homeschool group

I received a phone call from a homeschool support group leader that had just learned her treasurer had embezzled over $10, 000 from her group during the past two years. Her tale was heartbreaking as she spoke of what painful lessons she had learned and how to go forward.

Some of the signals that the leader saw that tipped her off were:

• The checkbooks was kept locked in the treasurer’s business office and frequently inaccessible.
• The leader had a difficult time getting the treasurer to write checks to members for expenses.
• No budget was ever created.
• The treasurer was not detailed oriented.
• The treasurer also did the bank reconciliation, so no one else saw the bank statements.
• The treasurer’s business income was severely hit by the recession making his personal finances in trouble.
• The treasurer was married to the vice chair, who was a close friend of the leader, so the leader was reluctant to confront her friends.
• The board was small and few people were willing to volunteer, making the leader desperate and grateful when anyone said they would serve as treasurer.

Here is what the group is doing now:

• Adding more board members
• Using a bank account with on-line access for visibility
• Creating a budget
• Amending bylaws and policies to add accountability
• Having someone besides the treasurer do  the bank reconciliation
• Pursuing restitution from the treasurer
• Consulting with a lawyer on when to use criminal prosecution

I hope you don’t ever face a similar situation.  To prevent fraud in your homeschool group, follow the practices mentioned above and in my book Money Mangement for Homeschool Organizations which you can order from the Bookstore page.

Carol Topp, CPA

Homeschool Leader, Do You Need Help?

Using Quickbooks for reports

Hi Carol,

Our Board of directors for our homeschool group of 100 families just received your 2 books (Money Management for Homeschool Organizations and Tax Exempt 510c3 Status for Homeschool Organizations).  I have read them.  It has reassured me that we are on the right track and that we have instituted many of the things that you mentioned.

We have purchased Quickbooks and our treasurer is working hard to learn  the software.

What financial reports do we need to generate monthly?  We need these reports to be a simple process.The Balance Sheet and P&L (Profit and Loss) statement in Quickbooks looks are overwhelming.

We are not accountants and double entry lines are confusing.We have reconciled our checkbook successfully.  YEAH!

Any advise would be helpful,

Hilary S

Hilary,

I’m glad that my books were helpful.  Your organization sounds as if they are getting things set up well.  I hope you’ll be serving homeschool families for a long time to come.

I think Quickbooks (QB) can be as simple or as complicated as it needs to be. The reports your treasurer generates is dependent on what the board wants to see. When I was treasurer, I gave my board a P&L (Profit and Loss) statement.  They really liked to see the budget in one column and actual P&L in another column.  Then they could see how we were doing compared to our budget. This report can be generated in QB as a Budget Report.
I also created a mini balance sheet at the bottom of the P&L.  I took the amount in the checking account and then listed payments to be made.  This gave the board an idea of how much cash we had on hand and where it was planned to go.

If the P&L statements in QB are too overwhelming, then perhaps you’re not using QB correctly.  I frequently see QB users make their Chart of Accounts too long.  Then the P&L becomes 2-3 pages long.  I recommend that a P&L be condensed into one page or less.

If your treasurer would like my help in setting up QB, I’d be happy to help.  She can e-mail me with what needs to be done and I’ll give you an estimated cost.  I also do QB training over the phone. I keep things as simple as possible.

I hope that helps.  I wish you the best of success! (Congrats on balancing the checkbook!)

Carol Topp, CPA

Returning co-op supplies to parents

Carol,
I wanted to ask you how your homeschool co-op handles classes where there are nonconsumable items purchased.  We had a class where kits were purchased for a LEGO class.  Students shared kits so we charged a lesser fee.  Now people think they should get half of the kits (kinda silly because there is only one motor) or that future classes in future years should have to pay and they receive a credit each time.  We have never done that with any classes in the past.  It has always just become property of the co-op.  It sounds like it would be a bookkeeping nightmare otherwise.

Thanks for your input.

Becky P in KY

Becky,

You’re right, the logo kits sound like a bookkeeping nightmare.  I like to keep things simple, but as fair as possible.

We had a similar situation in my homeschool co-op with Spanish books.  The teacher bought a curriculum to use and was planning on spreading out the cost of the teacher manuals and CDs over two years of students. It took some guess work to figure out how many students she would have this year as well as future years.  In the end we decided  that this year’s students would end up paying for a portion of the teachers books and CDs.  The rest of the cost was absorbed by the co-op as a whole. The co-op then owned the teacher books and CDs. Future Spanish classes were charged a small supply fee so that the co-op could recoup the cost of the teachers books and CDs.

In summary I think the co-op should own non consumables, not the individual parents. Sounds like that’s how you have done it in the past. Parents pay a supply fee, but are not entitled to the equipment afterward nor a credit from future students.
Carol Topp, CPA

How Much to Keep in Cash Reserves?

Hello,

I am wondering whether you have any guidelines about a good amount of cash to keep in reserve, or what to use as a basis for determining the amount of cash. We have a substantial surplus, growing every year despite our efforts to price classes at a close to break-even rate.

Thank you!
Shaun S in Minnesota

Shaun,

What a wonderful position to be in-cash reserves growing each year! Many for-profit businesses are not doing that well!

It’s a little difficult to be specific without knowing how you operate, such as do you collect all fees at the start of the semester or do you operate month to month.  Can families drop out or join mid semester? Do you offer refunds of fees paid if a family drops out? etc…

Basically, the tighter you run your cash flow (i.e., only collecting a month at a time), the more you need in reserve.

I recommend that you look at your sources of income.  Imagine any one item being eliminated, such as a major fund raiser. How would you run your co-op without that source of income? Sometimes when a nonprofit loses a major source of funding, it needs to fall back on cash reserves for a while.

Here are a few guidelines to help you determine the amount of cash reserves needed:
1. Have at least 10%, maybe 15% of your income in reserve for emergencies, damages or disasters.
2. Have at least one or two month’s rent in reserve in case you need to move locations.
3. If you pay employees, have at least three months of their pay  in reserve.
4. Consider creating a future plan of major purchases (like a computer or software) or programs you’d like to offer. Your surplus could be applied to your “wish list.”
5. Have at least enough in reserve to cover the deductibles on your liability and medical/accident insurance.

Here are a few ideas of what to do with your cash surplus:
1. Offer reduced fees to hurting families. In my homeschool co-op, we have a widow and another family with a disabled father, so they get free access to our co-op classes.
2. Offer reduced fees for significant volunteer efforts. We offer teacher discounts and discounts to our co-op director.
3. Make a contribution to the location you are renting if  it is a church or community organization.
4. Have an end of year party with a catered dinner.
5. Give appreciation gifts to all your volunteers.

I hope that helps!

Carol Topp, CPA

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