Blog - Accounting and Bookkeeping News | Accounting for Good

When fundraising is too successful

Fundraising can be a tough gig. There are so many worthwhile causes in constant competition that it can be hard to find donors and reach your goals.
But what happens when a tragedy touches people around the world and pockets open with an avalanche of donations?

How to avoid an accounting emergency

The sudden departure of a key person within your finance team can create a major headache. The recovery process can be difficult and often requires a lot of resources and can be especially demanding on the CEO in a small-medium sized organisation.

Not for profit new Board members

One of our team members joked last month that it must have been ‘Boards Behaving Badly Month’ because they had heard a few sorry tales of Boards doing all manner of things that were not really within their governance remit, were operational matters or were not even in the best interests of the organisation.

Does fraud happen in not for profits?

Surely not, we hear you say. Surely nobody would try and steal funds from a good-hearted charity or member-focused association?
Well unfortunately, they sure would. There have been many examples of fraud in Australian not for profits over time.

The questions an NFP Board should be able to answer

The Board of a not for profit (NFP) is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the organisation. The finances are a critical component and as such it is imperative that they are well-informed and in a strong position to make decisions about the future of the organisation.

Superannuation amnesty – is there one?

You might recall there was a fairly well publicised superannuation amnesty that was meant to run for 12 months from May 2018 – trouble is, the legislation didn’t pass and there was no official amnesty. Well, like a good zombie, it’s back… but still not imminent.

Tips for good governance

In principle, good governance should be actively driven by the Board. Having a shared understanding of what good governance looks like in practice around your board table is important to ensure efficient meetings, good questions and productive discussions.

Hot audit topics

At Accounting For Good we always aim for a ‘no surprises‘ audit… and we are pretty happy with our track record of very few material adjustments across our client portfolio. Some auditors were hot on a couple of topics this year. This month we explore the issue of ‘super on leave loading’.

Not for profit, in-kind contributions

The financial landscape for not for profit (NFP) organisations continuously evolves. In the past, in-kind contributions were rarely seen, but today they are becoming more common in NFP accounting.

AICD’s NFP Governance and Performance Study

The tenth annual AICD Not-for-Profit (NFP) Governance and Performance Study report was published at the end of July. It highlights many of the challenges NFP directors face and discusses specific topics relating to NFP boards.

NFP Accounting Articles