CPAs on Boards™

CPAs on Boards™

Thanks for taking the time to find out more about what you can do as a CPA!

The New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) has undertaken a statewide approach to address the concerns of the nonprofit community by fostering partnerships with not-for-profits. A task force has been formed by the Society to identify, train, and match CPAs with nonprofit boards that are proactive in raising the level of financial integrity of their member boards. With a potential of hundreds of financial board members for nonprofit boards, the NYSSCPA is a natural source to fill the need and enhance nonprofit governance.

As the federal government has begun to regulate publicly-held companies for the sake of effective self-governance, there is still a dire need today for nonprofit boards to include experts in financial matters, the latest federal regulations, and beyond. That’s where the NYSSCPA membership comes into play -- as expert volunteers. Whether the nonprofit organizations are small or large, startups or well-established, our members provide the same invaluable technical assistance and the capable leadership to serve on Boards.

The NYSSCPA has currently taken on the initiative of facilitating volunteers to serve on various Boards and provide technical assistance, courtesy of NYSSCPA.org. Opportunities are abound to provide short-term guidance or a long-term commitment by helping to serve on a Board. What better way to give back to the community and build your professional expertise? Click here for program Guidelines. Click here for more info on educational opportunities.

All interested Society members are asked to visit their respective Chapter sections on NYSSCPA.org to see what opportunity is of interest to them, from serving in a temporary capacity offering financial guidance to serving in a long-term capacity as a board of director member. The give and take involved with service on a board benefits everyone involved, with CPAs able to get personal satisfaction in helping others through volunteerism, while at the same time earning professional prestige. Click here to find your location.

Also, if you are interested in being listed as a nonprofit looking for CPA board members, please contact either the Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc. (CCSNYS) or the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. (NPCC).

Build your reputation and develop your career through volunteerism, maintaining the high standards of the profession in the process. The profession has given so much to you; now it’s time to give something back.

Are You on Board?

If you are interested in volunteering, please click on the location closest to you below to choose a nonprofit organization! Please note: Once you choose a location below, be sure to contact the nonprofit organization you are interested in volunteering for via the "Inquire" link next to the corresponding listing and not through any non-NYSSCPA Web pages.

Following are important guidelines for CPAs who wish to participate in the CPAs on Boards Program. Please read all of the information supplied by the nonprofit organization before applying. This will include background about the organization and qualifications it is seeking in candidates for its board.

Before submitting an application to a nonprofit organization, you should spend some time learning about the organization by browsing the organization’s website. This is time well spent and will make the application process more efficient for you.

As each nonprofit organization receives applications from CPAs, it should send an acknowledgement by email. This means only that the organization has received your application; it is not an acceptance of your application. We suggest that you do not apply to more than three nonprofit organizations at a time.

Usually, a representative of the nonprofit organization will contact you by telephone or invite you for a personal interview. During this contact, you should discuss the following:

In addition, to better prepare you for your discussions with the nonprofit you might want to:

This due diligence will help you and the organization know if you have a good fit. After going through this process, you or the organization may decide not to proceed. Or the nonprofit may have filled all of its available board positions with other people.

If the nonprofit declines your application, it should provide you with a letter with details of this decision. If this happens, you should make an application with another nonprofit. Many worthwhile organizations are looking for talented CPAs for their boards. Similarly, you should extend the nonprofit the same courtesy, if you decide you would rather pursue a different opportunity.

Educational Opportunities

To enhance and round out your knowledge of governance and financial matters relating to nonprofits, CCSNYS has invited interested CPAs to attend its series of free training classes, Achieving Excellence in Governance Training. These classes have been approved for CPE credit and are offered at various locations throughout the state on an ongoing basis. The 2007-2008 schedule will be available shortly.

In the coming months, training on nonprofit governance and accounting may also be available through a number of NYSSCPA chapters. Participating chapters will usually be in locations not covered by CCSNYS's regularly scheduled State Board Training Consortium (STTC) workshops. These chapter programs will be FAE sponsored CPE events instructed by CCSNYS and may cost a nominal fee to attend. If you're interested in attending nonprofit governance and accounting training chapter events
please contact Bill Pape, Director, Membership, (212) 719-8420, wpape@nysscpa.org.