Thought Leadership
When it comes to thought leadership and staying informed, we’ve got you covered. See below for recent articles, webinars, and downloadable resources available.
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October 04, 2022
By: Rick Shields, CPA, CFE, Principal Few people outside the nonprofit accounting world have an appreciation for its complexities, and how they apply regardless of the amount. A person may say, “The organization has total revenues of $3 million, how difficult could it be?” Those who work in the field on a daily basis are […]
September 06, 2022
By: Annmarie Novotney, CPA, Director Earlier this year, several members of our Blue & Co. Not-for-Profit Services Team attended the 2022 AICPA Not-For-Profit Industry Conference. The annual conference covers key accounting, auditing, and tax issues as well as emerging updates related to the not-for-profit industry. This conference is extremely helpful to both industry professionals and […]
August 18, 2022
By: Bob Findley, CPA, Director and Sam Bass, CPA, Staff Accountant In September 2021, Ohio enacted section 5747.73 of the Ohio Revised Code, which allows a tax credit for individuals and businesses who make a qualified donation to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) certified by the Ohio Attorney General. How does this impact your nonprofit […]
August 18, 2022
By: Doug Hasler. CPA. Director An Indiana Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) is an organization that awards school scholarships to eligible students. Qualified SGOs receive funding for school scholarships from private, charitable donations. Those who have donated to an SGO that has been certified by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will then be eligible to […]
July 27, 2022
By: Allen Norvell, CPA, Director The Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet has announced the application portal for the Nonprofit Assistance Fund will start accepting online applications beginning at 9:00 am EDT on Monday, August 1, 2022. The Nonprofit Assistance Fund was created to provide one-time assistance payments to eligible nonprofit organizations that experienced net negative revenue […]
June 15, 2022
By: Tom Skoog, Cybersecurity & Data Management Practice Leader This is our fourth article in a five-part series on the importance of incident response planning as part of your cybersecurity program. The purpose of an Incident Response Plan is to proactively plan the actions you will take if you are faced with a serious cybersecurity […]
May 24, 2022
By: Tom Skoog, Cybersecurity & Data Management Practice Leader This is the third installment in our five-part series on the importance of incident response planning as part of your cybersecurity program. The purpose of an Incident Response Plan is to proactively plan the actions you will take if you are faced with a serious cybersecurity […]
April 26, 2022
By: Tom Skoog, Cybersecurity & Data Management Practice Leader Last month, we introduced the concept and importance of Incident Response Plans as part of overall cybersecurity. As stated previously, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a framework all incident response plans should consider, including: Preparation Detection & Analysis Containment & Eradication […]
April 04, 2022
By: Tom Skoog, Cybersecurity & Data Management Practice Leader Over the years, we have highlighted several steps businesses and nonprofits can take to reduce the risk of a cyberattack. Most of these initiatives previously discussed are designed to prevent or significantly reduce the chance that your organization becomes a victim of a cyberattack. However, no […]
March 14, 2022
Written by Joell Grisel, CPA, Manager, and Thomas Koustenis, Tax Intern Online payment services such as Venmo, PayPal, and many others, are more common than ever, especially for the sale of goods and services. While no banks or hard currency are involved in these transactions, these digital payments for goods and services are still considered […]
February 22, 2022
By: Holly Fields, CPA, Senior Manager In 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02 – Leases (Topic ASC 842). For non-public not-for-profit entities, this ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 (i.e., calendar year 2022 for entities with a December 31 year-end). Whether your not-for-profit […]
February 01, 2022
By: Ryan Adams, CPA, Manager Before nonprofit organizations were required to implement Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-14, Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, uncovering the amount of assets that were both liquid and available from an organization’s financial statements was often an insurmountable task. While it was true that one could ascertain the amount […]
January 20, 2022
Has your charitable organization moved in the last year? Have you had a significant change in use of property? If your organization is located in Indiana, and you answered yes to either, you likely need to file a new Form 136 Application for Property Tax Exemption. Indiana Code exempts from tax real property and business […]
January 04, 2022
By: Jason Terwilliger, CPA, CIA, Manager Communication is a cornerstone of any effective team of individuals working together to achieve common goals. This is especially true for the accounting and development departments in nonprofit organizations. When it comes to accurately reporting on an organization’s financial position, both accounting and development have important roles. Development staff […]
December 16, 2021
By: Rick Shields, CPA, CFE, Principal Not-for-profit (NFP) organizations often operate in an environment of affiliates with the assumption that all entities are part of one overall unit. This may be correct, however, as with many aspects of accounting, it is not as simple as it may seem on the surface. Below is an introductory […]
Webinars
September 28, 2023
Determining when to include rental income in your unrelated business income (UBI) tax calculation can be challenging; however, it is a commonly conducted non-profit organization activity. We created a beginner’s guide checklist to help you get started. There are two common types of rental income we see among our non-profit clients: Real Property: Providing low-income […]
September 21, 2023
By Cory Schunemann, CPA, Manager at Blue & Co. Indiana’s 2023 Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 417 made another change to the sales tax collection requirements for not-for-profits after 2022’s SEA 382. Not-for-profits with taxable retail sales in excess of $100,000 in the current or prior year are now required to collect and remit sales tax. […]
August 09, 2023
By Emilie Knieriem, CPA, Senior Manager at Blue & Co. Tax-exempt hospitals provide community benefits for many reasons. In order to understand those reasons, we should first define what community benefits are and how they benefit community need. Community benefits are programs and services designed to improve health in communities and increase access to health care. […]
July 19, 2023
By Andrew Brock, CPA, Manager at Blue & Co. How often do you find yourself facing more questions than answers when it comes to making operational decisions for your organization and what the future bottom-line impact of those decisions might entail? Right now, some of the most relevant trends and decisions for organizations include: Impact […]
June 27, 2023
By Luke Pierce, CPA, Manager at Blue & Co. What Are Functional Expenses? Under financial reporting standards, all not-for-profit entities are required to present a statement of functional expenses, either within the actual financial statements or as a disclosure within the notes to the financial statements. While natural expenses show the type of expense incurred, […]
June 09, 2023
By Greg Jackson, CPA, Principal at Blue & Co. Many not-for-profit organizations rely on public support (grants and contributions) to finance their mission. When that public support includes donor-restricted grants and contributions, those restricted amounts must be reported and accounted for in accordance with the related restrictions attached to the funds. When recording a donor-restricted […]
