UHY Not-for-Profit Newsletter - August 2008
3
WE HAVE YOUR FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS UHY has a full staff of account- ing professionals who can pro- vide excellent support to your accounting department. If you need to supplement your staff with accounting clerks, book- keepers or experienced CPAs, j ust call us and we’ll help. W e also prov ide consultati on servi ces, des ign of int ernal controls, operating procedures and accounting systems. 6851 Oak Hall Lane Suite 300 C ol um bi a, MD 21045 410-720-5220 Fax 410-381-2524 www. uh y-us. com N on p r of i t Ad v i s or August 2008 Vol. 1 • No. 5 U H Y A d v i s o r s M i d - A t l a n t i c , I n c . UHY Advisors brings specialis ts in nonprof it solutions in account ing and tax. 990 E-Filing Tips by Carol Shepherd, Senior Staff E lectronic fil - ing is now common in the not-for-profit worl d. Although the IRS requires c er t ai n e xe mpt organizations to file their 990s elec- tronically, it does not preclude the aver age tax- exempt orga nizat ion from e-filing. continued on page 2 A s pr omised in the last newsl ett er , I am continuing my ser ies on hel pin g your orga nizat ion meet the IRS’ three goal s of the 2008 Form 990. At this point you’ve read my article on developing a conflict of interest policy, right? Well, now it’s time for round two: developing whi stle- bl ower and document retenti on policies. Unlike the conflict of inter- est policy, these policies aren’t only considered a “best practice,” they’re required by the Sarbanes Oxley-Act of 2002. The requirements to have whistleblower and document reten- tion policies aren’t breaking news, nor are they new questions to the Form 990; however, it never hurts to brush up on what is required. SOX, as it is affectionately referred to in our fi rm, wa s th e focus of many classes I took when working toward my mas ters degre e. Since that diploma is now collecting dust somewher e in my b as ement , I should be able to conjure up some of the basics. A whistleblower policy — • encourages staff and volunteers to come forward with credible infor- mation on illegal practices or vio- lations of adopted policies of the organization, • specifies that the organization will protect the individual from retali- ation, and • identifies those staff or board mem- be rs or outside par tie s to who m such information can be reported. A document retention and destruc- tion polic y identifies the record rete ntion responsibilities of staff, volunteers, boar d members , and outsiders for maintaining and docu- menting the storage and destruction of the organiz ation’s document s and rec ords. These requir ements ar en’ t jus t limite d to pap er doc u- ments; elec tro nic file s and voic e- mails are included, too. continued on page 2 Carol Shepherd 2008 Form 990 Best Practices Series Whistleblower and Document Retention Policies By Matt Duvall, Senior Staff Matt Duvall
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Transcript of UHY Not-for-Profit Newsletter - August 2008
8/8/2019 UHY Not-for-Profit Newsletter - August 2008
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/uhy-not-for-profit-newsletter-august-2008 1/2
WE HAVE YOURFINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
UHY has a full staff of account-
ing professionals who can pro-
vide excellent support to your
accounting department. If you
need to supplement your staff
with accounting clerks, book-
keepers or experienced CPAs, just call us and we’ll help.
We also provide consultation
services, design of internal
controls, operating procedures
and accounting systems.
6851 Oak Hall Lane Suite 300 Columbia, MD 21045 410-720-5220 Fax 410-381-2524 www.uhy-us.comL L L L L
Nonprofit Advisor August 2008
Vol. 1 • No. 5
U H Y A d v i s o r s M i d - A t l a n t i c , I n c .
UHY Advisors brings specialists in nonprofit solutions in accounting and tax.
990 E-FilingTipsby Carol Shepherd, Senior Staff
Electronic fil-ing is now
common in then o t - f o r - p r o f i tworld. Althoughthe IRS requirescertain exemptorganizations tofile their 990s elec-
tronically, it does not preclude theaverage tax-exempt organizationfrom e-filing.
continued on page 2
A s promisedin the last
newsletter, I amcontinuing myseries on helpingyour organizationmeet the IRS’ threegoals of the 2008Form 990.
At this point you’ve read my article
on developing a conflict of interestpolicy, right? Well, now it’s time forround two: developing whistle- blower and document retentionpolicies. Unlike the conflict of inter-est policy, these policies aren’t onlyconsidered a “best practice,” they’rerequired by the Sarbanes Oxley-Actof 2002. The requirements to havewhistleblower and document reten-tion policies aren’t breaking news,nor are they new questions to the
Form 990; however, it never hurts to brush up on what is required.
SOX, as it is affectionately referredto in our firm, was the focus ofmany classes I took when workingtoward my masters degree. Sincethat diploma is now collecting dust
somewhere in my basement, Ishould be able to conjure up some ofthe basics.
A whistleblower policy —
• encourages staff and volunteers tocome forward with credible infor-mation on illegal practices or vio-lations of adopted policies of theorganization,
• specifies that the organization willprotect the individual from retali-ation, and
• identifies those staff or board mem- bers or outside parties to whomsuch information can be reported.
A document retention and destruc-tion policy identifies the recordretention responsibilities of staff,volunteers, board members, andoutsiders for maintaining and docu-
menting the storage and destructionof the organization’s documentsand records. These requirementsaren’t just limited to paper docu-ments; electronic files and voice-mails are included, too.
continued on page 2
Carol Shepherd
2008 Form 990
Best Practices Series
Whistleblower and DocumentRetention PoliciesBy Matt Duvall, Senior Staff
Matt Duvall
8/8/2019 UHY Not-for-Profit Newsletter - August 2008
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/uhy-not-for-profit-newsletter-august-2008 2/2
