Although the snow storm was an obstacle for many participants, a small group of participants did have a conversation with David Moynihan, President of the NYS Society of CPAs. The discussion focused on defining your auditor and clarifying that he or she gives an opinion on your organization's financial statements, and is not your friend or a member of management. They are hired to verify your financial practices and protect the public interest.
David discussed tips for the audit process, including:
- Look for an auditor that knows nonprofits
- Do background beforehand when going out with RFP
- Used sealed fixed fee aproach
- Need to guide the auditor and audit process
- If issues arise, it comes back to the nonprofit and its board of directors
David also discussed how auditors are held accountable:
- NYS Society of CPAs (volunteer association) and NYS Office of Professions (licensing body) are professional organizations
- Ethics- complaints are investigated
- Education- professional development and associations
- Quality review- a peer review is a best practice, which involves hiring another CPA to look at firm's practices and procedures
The group also discussed how to get the board involved in the process and work:
- Board may not understand legal and financial responsibilities
- Ignorance won't stand up in court
- CPAs should emphasize/require meeting with the board and board involvement
- Shift in recent years to looking at internal controls (which accounts for increased costs)
- Test controls- find control deficiencies; if significant deficiencies, reported in writing
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