The HST is upon us. HST will now apply in Ontario and British Columbia as well as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland (in addition to the very similar QST in Quebec). While the HST clearly means more sales tax...
At Ben’s first meeting as a new member of the board of directors for a nonprofit, he discovered that he needed help. As he sat listening to the executive director, Ben realized that his knowledge of business accounting hadn’t sufficiently...
You have been given the challenge of finding a new auditor for your organization. You've already developed a list of several auditors that have been recommended by other organizations similar to yours, and you are now wondering what criteria to...
There’s never a bad time to establish good habits. While the subject of "recordkeeping" can elicit yawns, proper financial and accounting records are the foundation of a well run nonprofit and charity. Good record keeping provides support in numerous ways:...
The executive director didn't have an inkling. The volunteer team had just celebrated a successful fundraising event that brought $20,000 into their nonprofit - or so they thought. When the ED reviewed the bank deposit, however, only $15,000 could be...
How financially competent is your nonprofit team? If yours is similar to many small nonprofits or charities, the board, management and staff are likely struggling to address financial challenges arising from the battered economy. Given these pressures, the treasurer's role...
There aren't many people who choose to lead a nonprofit or charity or to sit on its board because they love bookkeeping and accounting. And yet, while "number crunching" may seem mundane, how well an organization's numbers are crunched can...
For board members and executives joining the nonprofit community from other industry sectors, the issues around taxation can be quite novel. Nonprofits, for example, are exempt from paying income taxes. Yet every nonprofit has a number of important tax obligations,...
Many nonprofits start out using entry-level accounting products that provide basic bookkeeping capabilities, but they soon see warning signs that their current system can't keep up with their special tracking and reporting requirements. These signs could be missed deadlines, time-consuming...
Among the key responsibilities of nonprofit leaders is protecting the financial health of their organization. This can be a considerable responsibility during the most buoyant economic times - and is especially weighty during times of economic turbulence. Still, the board...
