Nonprofit Conference Focuses on Responsibility, Accountability Issues

By Tom Morris

The Foundation for Accounting Education’s 24th Annual Nonprofit Conference brought together a record-setting number of CPAs and other financial professionals interested in the nonprofit industry, with almost 160 attending in Rochester on Jan. 17, and more than 350 attending in New York City on Jan. 24.

“I think the conference’s high energy level may be attributable to the increased focus on the charitable world post–Sept. 11,” said conference co-chair Julie Floch, chair of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee.

Floch said the keynote speakers, Paula Gavin, CEO of the YMCA of greater New York, and Susan Reschke, CFO of the YMCA of greater Rochester, set the tone of the conference, heading up a discussion on economic and industry concerns as well as accountability and board governance issues. Representatives from the New York State Charities Bureau, including William Josephson, Karin Goldman and Marty Goldband, discussed revised proposed regulations from the state attorney general’s office that focus, among other things, on the continued accountability that is required by CPAs. In light of some of the Sept. 11 fund-raising concerns and the recent spotlight on the raising of donor-designated dollars, this has become an area of importance in the attorney general’s office, Floch noted. Mary Foster’s session on board governance continued this theme of accountability.

Other useful presentations included updates by government officials on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s audits and the Office of Management and Budget.

“CPAs from private industry were pleased that so many breakout sessions applied to them, not just to the CPAs in public practice. The sessions on performance measurement and indirect costs were designed particularly for them,” said conference co-chair David Ashenfarb, vice chair of the Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee. “Judging by the number of people who use the conference as an opportunity to discuss concerns with the speakers, part of the conference’s appeal is the opportunity to interact with high-level professionals in different areas.”

Ashenfarb added that the reference materials, particularly from Herbert Folpe’s “Common Mistakes in Financial Statements” presentation and Allen Fetterman’s “Accounting and Auditing Update,” were especially helpful.

“This was my first time attending the conference,” said Peter Spiess, a partner of PKF CPAs in New York City. “I came because I recently added several not-for-profit organizations as clients, and I want to know about the technical concerns and other issues that affect them. This program gave me a lot of high-quality, current information.”

Floch said she is pleased with the conference’s strong track record. “The other co-chairs, David Ashenfarb, Jeff Green, John Oehler, and Rob Taylor, deserve a lot of credit,” she said. “This is the FAE’s best-attended industry conference each year…and we are proud of our results.”