Accounting Fundamentals Revisted

Next webinar: Wednesday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m ET

The world has changed over the past three years—we've all “pivoted,” dealt with inflation, and now we’re facing down recession. Despite all this change, sticking to fundamental nonprofit finance practices remains the best way to ensure long-term financial and organizational sustainability. But what do those practices even look like in today’s world? Have the rules changed? Each month we’ll bring in a nonprofit financial expert to answer that question for the modern day, diving into topics like reporting and data visualization, understanding indirect costs, cybersecurity and risk, budgeting, forecasting, internal controls, board management, best practices for grant management, and more. You’ll come away with clear how-tos for optimizing your people, processes, and technology to ensure organizational sustainability and move your finance office forward.

Why Nonprofit Accounting is Different Than Accounting for Business (CPE)

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While the fundamentals of nonprofit and for-profit accounting may be the same, the methodologies can differ substantially. Join us for a discussion with Greg McRay of Foundation Group to unpack the key differences between nonprofit and for-profit accounting, like handling restricted and unrestricted funds, recognizing in-kind contributions, adhering to specific nonprofit reporting standards, and more.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the unique regulatory landscape governing nonprofit accounting.
Grasp the specific financial reporting requirements exclusive to nonprofits and their implications.
Learn the intricacies of managing donations, grants, and other nonprofit funding sources.
Identify and overcome common challenges faced by those doing the books for a nonprofit.

Format: Group Internet-Based Program
Program Sponsor: Blackbaud
Knowledge Level: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Update, or Overview
Cost: Free
Credit Provided: One (1)
Prerequisites: None
Field of Study: Default to Information Technology – Technical (full list of fields)
Instructor Bio: Greg McRay, President and CEO, Foundation Group

Blackbaud is a registered sponsor of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors—a program offered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). This registry recognizes that our continuing professional education for accountants meets nationally recognized standards. 

Accountants are required by state governing boards to earn CPE credits to maintain and enhance their professional competence. As a registered sponsor, Blackbaud’s name and address are printed on a registry that is distributed to state boards of accountancy and made available to licensed accountants across the country. A link to Blackbaud’s website appears with our listing on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors on NASBA’s website, www.nasba.org.

How are the number of CPE credits determined? CPE credits are granted based on a 50-minute hour. Participants are eligible for one CPE credit for every 50 minutes of instruction attended. For learning activities in which individual segments are less than 50 minutes, the sum of the segments would be considered one total program. A minimum of one full credit must be awarded initially, but after the first credit has been earned, credits may be awarded in one-fifth increments or in one-half increments.

Is CPE credit automatically awarded after attendance is established? CPE credit is not automatically awarded. Letters or certificates of completion are available upon successfully completing a class. Certificates will be issued within 2 weeks after the webinar via email from [email protected]. You are responsible for submitting this information to the State Boards of Accountancy. Should you have questions or issues, please reply to the email or contact mailto: [email protected].

Surveys for these sessions will be made immediately following the webinar.

Blackbaud is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website www.nasbaregistry.org.

A Checklist for Meeting Your IRS 990 Series Deadline (and Maintaining Tax Compliance)

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Join us for a live discussion with Nikita Sullivent of Tax990 that will serve as a helpful guide to completing 990 Series returns, compiling reporting information, and understanding IRS E-filing guidelines. We’ll present for approximately 45 minutes and hold live Q&A at the end.

Attendees will learn:

Timeline for filing
Frequently asked questions
Overview of IRS filing requirements
How good accounting software and the ability to e-file with a trusted provider should allow you to capture and submit all the financial information you need to supply for your 990
Importance of providing context as needed for stakeholders

10 Tips for Building a World-Class Finance Department

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Few of us get the opportunity to create a department or team from scratch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be strategic about your department’s role within the organization, the expectations you have of your team, and how you ensure you have the correct people in the best roles for them. Join Blackbaud and Angela Coaxum of Your Part-Time Controller as she provides 10 tips for building a world-class finance department.

Save the Day: Data Visualization to the Rescue!

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Telling a compelling story is one of the most effective ways of breaking through today's noise. And your data is no different. A good financial report tells your leadership, donors, funders, and board members key information about where you are, where you are going, and how you need to get there.

If you feel you aren't communicating your financial story clearly, you are not alone! Before you put up the distress signal, let us help you become a data visualization hero! In this session with William Schwab of Your Part-Time Controller, we will share how to leverage graphics to better communicate information in ways easy for audiences to understand. The fate of your financial story depends on it!

A Complete Picture: How to Calculate and Communicate Indirect Program Costs

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Many nonprofits avoid the word overhead, but without accounting for those costs, organizations don’t know what it takes to fully deliver an impactful program. Using an indirect cost rate allows organizations to capture the true cost of providing programs and services, and ensures each program and service covers its portion of common expenses, such as insurance, utilities, rent, and administrative staff. While many funders are beginning to understand the importance of covering general operating support, some still only want to fund program support; therefore, using indirect rates (when allowed) can be a great way to capture operating expenses associated with programmatic expenses and more easily communicate that story to your stakeholders.

Attendees will learn: the basics of indirect costs, how an organization can begin to calculate and utilize them, and how to communicate the importance of covering these costs within program budgets.

Five Workflow Master Practices for Your Nonprofit Finance Office

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Do you feel like you’re missing something when it comes to your nonprofit’s finances, but you have no clue what it might be? One of the reasons you feel overwhelmed and nervous about your finances is because you don’t have a solid monthly routine.

This session will help nonprofit leaders create a monthly routine to manage their finances with ease. We will review the benefits of creating a regular workflow and how to ensure your organization is compliant and your systems are set up for success. We discuss the major tasks that need to be done annually, as well as the bookkeeping and accounting tasks that should be done monthly to ensure you never miss a beat. We will also discuss easy ways to analyze your numbers every month and the one thing that might be missing from your monthly routine. Staying on top of your numbers every single month will help you feel more confident as a leader, and grow your impact and your income. Attendees will learn the benefits of: creating regular, repeating workflows; identifying major annual tasks; staying on top of monthly accounting and bookkeeping tasks; analyzing your monthly numbers .

Audit Readiness: How to Ace Preparation for Your Financial Statement Audit

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Audit preparation, especially if it is your first time approaching it, can be a daunting task. Join us and Paul Preziotti, CPA, nonprofit audit expert, and partner with Johnson Lambert, for tips on preparing for and running a successful audit (remote or onsite).

Attendees will learn how to:

Plan for what an auditor will need to see
Create a strong audit trail with documentation, naming conventions, and accessible details
Gather what you’ll need and provide secure access to your auditor
Communicate with your auditor

Essential Internal Controls for the Modern Nonprofit CFO

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Today’s finance leaders are expected to also be risk managers—predicting, assessing, and mitigating risks for not only the finance team—but also the entire organization.

How you manage risk, compliance, and oversight may have been turned upside down in the past couple of years with staff turnover, a move to a fully- or partially remote workspace, and rapidly changing technology. What’s worked in the past may not work in today’s environment, but a system of strong internal controls remains the best way to guarantee the sustainability of your organization. 

How can you ensure you are taking the right steps to protect your organization? Join Melissa Rancour and Mary Aquino-Cooper of Blackbaud University for this 60-minute deep-dive webinar on internal controls and compliance.

Building a Strong Grants Compliance Team: The Importance of Finance and Program Staff Collaboration

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When your team receives a large federal grant, how does your team work together to meet all of the compliance requirements? During this webinar, we’ll review the importance of teamwork and collaboration between finance and program teams to meet 2 CFR 200 requirements, and offer some best practices to remove risk and minimize stress.

Attendees will learn:

Review the pillars of building a culture of compliance
Roles and responsibilities for financial and programmatic staff
Post-award management overview and phases
Best practices and case studies of success

Presented by:

Resource | Report

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A year-long thought leadership webinar series for nonprofit finance professionals.

Why Nonprofit Accounting is Different Than Accounting for Business (CPE)

A Checklist for Meeting Your IRS 990 Series Deadline (and Maintaining Tax Compliance)

10 Tips for Building a World-Class Finance Department

Save the Day: Data Visualization to the Rescue!

A Complete Picture: How to Calculate and Communicate Indirect Program Costs

Five Workflow Master Practices for Your Nonprofit Finance Office

Audit Readiness: How to Ace Preparation for Your Financial Statement Audit

Essential Internal Controls for the Modern Nonprofit CFO

Building a Strong Grants Compliance Team: The Importance of Finance and Program Staff Collaboration

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