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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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IRS Reminds Taxpayers Major 2015 Tax Changes

Fact Sheet 2016-8, February IRS has issued a Fact Sheet highlighting major tax changes for 2015, including the renewal of key taxpayer-favorable benefits, a new way to save for retirement through MyRA accounts, ABLE accounts for people with disabilities, and updates on health care provisions. Changes for 2015. The Fact Sheet covers a gamut of […]

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Board of Directors’ Use of Financial Ratios

By: Shawn Williams, CPA, FHFMA, Audit Senior Manager As a current board member for several not-for-profit organizations, my fellow board members and executives seek my advice when reviewing and dissecting financial reports. CPAs are highly preferred during annual board recruitment due to their knowledge of finances, taxes, and accounting standards; however, the non-finance volunteers serving […]

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Diversifying Your Board

By: Annmarie Novotney, CPA, Senior Accountant In an age of social media, online fundraising, and increased volume of organizations in the market, nonprofit entities in the United States are fighting for fundraising dollars that, twenty years ago, flowed more easily into their organizations. As the number of nonprofits in the United States now exceeds 1.5 […]

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The Importance of Effective Monitoring Controls for Nonprofits

By: Marcus Frank, CPA, Senior Accountant Not-for-profit organizations often find themselves short on adequate resources to implement the ideal internal control environment, especially regarding segregation of duties. Adequate segregation of duties exists in larger for-profit entities but is difficult to achieve in some smaller not-for-profit organizations. Even for those not-for-profit organizations that have adequate resources […]

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Social Media Policies

By: Ashley Jones, CPA , Senior Accountant Many businesses, including not-for-profits, are taking advantage of social media to promote marketing and solicit donations. Social media has proven to be an effective new method for businesses to use. However, along with the benefits of this new tool, it also creates some additional concerns for companies, mainly […]

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Importance of Public Support Test

Importance of Public Support Test

Organizations that qualify for tax exemption in section 501(c)(3) are considered private foundations unless they fall under one of the categories specifically excluded from the definition of private foundation in section 509(a). Section 509(a)(1) excludes publicly supported organizations from private foundation status. An organization which has qualified as a publicly supported charity with the IRS […]

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Is Charitable Gaming For You? | Pile of Raffle Tickets

Is Charitable Gaming For You?

By Mike Gricius, CPA  – Manager Should your organization offer gaming as a means of raising additional funds? Several charitable organizations are actively using raffles and other gaming activities as a fundraising mechanism to raise funding to support the organization’s mission and purpose. The decision to be involved in such activities needs careful thought and planning by […]

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What Women Want – and Why Nonprofits Should Care

By: Ashley Jones, Staff Accountant When creating a marketing strategy, not-for-profits (NFPs) need to identify their target audience for soliciting donations. “The 2011 Study of High Net Worth Women’s Philanthropy and the Impact of Women’s Giving Networks” sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and performed by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University identifies […]

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The Importance of Budgeting | Person using calculator and laptop to budget

The Importance of Budgeting

By Greg Heitkamp, CPA – Senior Accountant Management team members of not-for-profit organizations are frequently asked questions such as the following: Are we meeting our budget? Do we have enough cash? What is the budget for this project? These questions are posed by employees determining their individual spending limits, board members examining the organization’s progress, or members of […]

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Why Does a Nonprofit Need to Document its Executive Compensation Policy?

By: Robert Moreland, CPA,Tax Manager and Kara Clark, CPA, Staff Accountant In 2004, the Internal Revenue Service, through the Exempt Organizations Office of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, commenced the Executive Compensation Compliance Initiative. This project was divided into three parts. In the first part, compliance check letters were sent to 1,223 organizations […]

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Tax Exemption is a Privilege and Not a Right – Part Three

By: Shawn P. Williams, CPA, Audit Senior Manager Note: This article concludes a three-part series discussing issues that may jeopardize an organization’s tax exempt status. Part one provided an overall discussion of the issues while part two discussed detailed issues regarding political and lobbying activities. This article will address the consequences of private inurement and private benefit. Even […]

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Don’t Jeopardize Your Tax Exempt Status This Election Season – Part Two

By: Bob Moreland, CPA, Manager Note: This article is part two of a three-part series discussing issues that may jeopardize an organization’s tax exempt status. Part one provided an overall discussion of the issues. This article discusses detailed issues regarding political and lobbying activities. The series will conclude with an article addressing the consequences of private […]

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Jeopardizing Tax Exempt Status – Part One

By: Chad Robinson, CPA, Senior Accountant Note: This article begins a three-part series discussing issues that may jeopardize an organization’s tax exempt status. Part one will provide an overall discussion of the issues while Parts two and three will provide a more detailed discussion related to political activity and inurement issues. Every year nonprofit organizations […]

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Not-For-Profits and Capital Expenditures

Not-For-Profits and Capital Expenditures

At what point should a not-for-profit consider investing in a capital expenditure? A capital expenditure can be described as acquiring, repairing, or upgrading a physical asset such as land, a building, or equipment. For the expenditure to be considered a capital expenditure the physical asset must have a useful life that extends beyond a year […]

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When to Recognize a Promise to Give as Revenue

By: Stephen Clements, CPA, Senior Manager For most nonprofit organizations, revenues result from either program revenues, for example, when services are performed to earn revenue, or contribution revenues, such as receipt of a promise to give from a donor. This article will concentrate on the recognition issues involved when receiving a promise to give. The […]

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Webinars

Vsimple and Hearn Construction Workflow Management Webinar

On-Demand Webinar: Vsimple Success Stories – Hearn Construction

Blue & Co. and Vsimple hosted a webinar on Tuesday, December 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST entitled Workflow Management: How Hearn Construction is Standardizing & Simplifying Their Business Processes Using Vsimple. This is part one of a series of use case examples demonstrating the success that client’s of Vsimple have discovered while […]

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On-Demand Webinar: Myths and Facts of Commercial Loan Reviews

Download Webinar Resources On April 6, Blue & Co. held a webinar entitled Myths and Facts of Commercial Loan Reviews. Panelists debunked common loan review myths and presented the facts and practical tips and lessons learned related to commercial loan review. Duration: 1 Hour CPE not available Download Presentation Here Watch a Recording of the […]

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Webinar: A Guide to the Kentucky Tangible Personal Property Tax Return for Manufacturers

You’re Invited Join Blue & Co. on Wednesday, February 9 at 12:00 PM EST for a webinar entitled A Guide to the Kentucky Tangible Personal Property Tax Return for Manufacturers. This presentation will walk through the Kentucky Tangible Personal Property Tax Return and identify common preparation errors & potential tax savings opportunities. Duration: 1 hr. CPE Credit: […]

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Tax Reform Distillery

Webinar: Tax Reform – What Does it Mean for You and Your Distillery?

You’re Invited! Join Blue & Co. and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) on Thursday, December 9 at 10:00 AM EST for a webinar entitled Tax Reform: What does it mean for you and your distillery? Presented by the Beverage Services Group at Blue & Co., LLC., this session will discuss the potential tax outlook for distilleries […]

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Pile of blue masks | Vaccine Mandates in the Workplace | COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in the Workplace | COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

On-Demand Webinar: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate in the Workplace

President Biden’s administration recently announced its Path Out of the Pandemic action plan which included specific guidance around a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The action plan calls for employers with 100 or more employees to require employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly tests, as well as requiring vaccinations for federal employees, contractors, and hospitals […]

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COVID Vaccine Mandates & Your Organization Webinar

Join Us! Join Blue & Co., Current HR, and DBL Law on November 16th from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST for a webinar covering the new COVID vaccine mandates and what it means for your ogranization. President Biden’s administration recently announced its Path Out of the Pandemic action plan. The action plan calls for […]

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