RSS Feed New! CAA Financial Management Conference Call
Join CAPLAW for a new series of facilitated 45-minute monthly conference calls focusing on current fiscal issues faced by CAAs. In each monthly call, CAPLAW financial consultant Kay Sohl will facilitate a discussion of a preannounced topic and participants will have an opportunity to ask questions, share insights, and suggest future conference call and training topics.
CAPLAW is launching the monthly conference calls in response to the fiscal management survey CAA managers completed last fall and to the fiscal roundtable discussion at our June 2009 conference Seattle. Learn more about Survey findings and discussion themes for fiscal officers.
The calls will supplement CAPLAW’s CAA Financial Network e-Forum as a resource for CAA fiscal staff and other CAA managers to share information, provide informal peer-to-peer assistance on financial issues and benefit from financial experts’ input.
When:
The call will occur the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
Fee:
Member: $26 per call, or $84 for the call package (all 4 calls!)
Non-member: $31 per call, or $104 for the call package (all 4 calls!)
Save $25 when you register for the complete call package!
Registration:
Register for one call, or the complete call package!
Print & Mail Registration Form
Current Topic Schedule:
April 14th:
Ensuring Programmatic and Fiscal Compliance
CAAs manage a complex array of grants and contracts requiring compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars, multiple CFR requirements on fiscal and program management and documentation, and grant and contract terms and conditions.
Participants in the April 14th CAA Financial Network Conference Call will explore alternative approaches to ensuring both programmatic and fiscal compliance – including the use of a compliance officer position. Participants will share their experiences and questions on the most effective approach to ensuring compliance including:
- Internal audit functions: How can small and mid-sized CAAs ensure compliance with program and fiscal requirements?
- Staying current on compliance requirements: Who monitors what?
- The role of a compliance officer: Why have a compliance officer? What does a compliance officer do? To whom should s/he report?
May 12th:
Facilities Costs and Federal Funds Requirements
Share your experiences and questions about using federal funds for facilities acquisition, depreciation expenses, and maintenance reserves. Call topics will include:
- Lease/buy analysis requirements to gain approval to use federal dollars for facilities purchase
- Depreciation expense and use allowance issues
- Capitalization and depreciation of facility improvements
- Funding, managing, and using maintenance reserves
- Leasing facilities from related entities
- Disposition issues
July 14th:
Accrued Vacation Challenges
Most federal programs, including HeadStart, allow two primary methods of handling the costs of accrued vacation obligations, either setting aside current year funds to meet accrued vacation obligations or using future year funds to meet obligations arising from prior years through a Pay-as-you-go system. Explore challenges of each method and recommended steps to change methods.
- Pay as You Go: Using Current Year Funds for Prior Year Vacation Obligations
- Accrued Expense and Vacation Liability method:
- Cash Management for funds drawn down to cover accrued expenses
- Use of Trust Accounts and 3rd party administrators to handle accrued vacation
- Changing from Pay as You Go to the Accrued Vacation method
September 8th:
Cloud Computing Experiences
Cloud Computing services give users multi-site web access to software and data storage for monthly fees, allowing users to avoid the cost of purchasing and maintaining software and data storage and security systems. Has your CAA explored or starting utilizing Cloud Computing services? Explore the pros and cons of Cloud Computing for your needs. Call topics will include:
- Is Cloud Computing ready for CAA requirements
- Cost/benefit analysis
- Data security and availability
- Staff training and support in Cloud Computing environment
- Transition strategies
*Schedule subject to change
About Kay Sohl
Kay Sohl is a nonprofit financial management consultant with Kay Sohl Consulting in Portland, OR. Ms. Sohl has provided training and consultation on financial management issues for over 4,000 nonprofit organizations. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of Technical Assistance for Community Services, the Northwest’s largest resource for nonprofit capacity building assistance. Ms. Sohl is co-author of the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook, adjunct faculty for the Institute of Nonprofit Management at Portland State University, and a frequent presenter for the American Institute of CPAs not-for-profit annual conferences in Washington D.C.
