Articles by

Olsen Thielen

5 Simple Steps to a Better Nonprofit Budget

Preparing your nonprofit’s annual budget is probably one of the least appealing parts of your job. Here’s how to make the process a little less painful.
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Providing Insurance (and peace of mind) as a Fringe Benefit

The environment for hiring and retaining top-notch employees remains competitive. One strategy for combating high turnover rates is offering a competitive package of employee benefits that goes beyond health care coverage and a retirement plan. This is where the right fringe benefits can really pay off.
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Don’t Let Lapping Fraud Run Circles Around Your Business

Lapping, or using receipts from one account to cover theft from another, is one of the most common methods of skimming from company accounts. But with vigilance — and a little knowledge — you can prevent this type of fraud from damaging your business.
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Valuing and Reporting Gifts in Kind and Donated Services

Not-for-profit organizations don’t receive only cash donations. Your support also likely comes in the form of gifts in kind and donated services. But even when such gifts are welcome, it can be challenging to determine how to recognize and assign value to them for financial reporting purposes.
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Accelerate Your Retirement Savings with a Cash Balance Plan

A cash balance plan is a defined benefit plan, which specifies the amount a participant will receive in retirement. But unlike traditional defined benefit plans, such as pensions, cash balance plans express those benefits in the form of a 401(k)-style account balance, rather than a formula tied to years of
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Tax Identity Stolen? The IRS Can Help

Recovering from tax-related identity theft can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. But the IRS can help remove fraudulent, inaccurate information from your federal tax records and ensure that your legitimate return is processed correctly. The key is to address the issue as soon as you realize your identity has
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An Anonymous Hotline Can Encourage Employees to Report Fraud

Anonymous hotlines an effective method of uncovering occupational fraud. But while the mere existence of a hotline can prompt second thoughts in employees tempted to commit fraud, it usually isn’t enough to encourage reporting of fraudulent activities.
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Possible Tax Reform Could Affect Timing Strategies

Projecting your business income and expenses for this year and next can allow you to time when you recognize income and incur deductible expenses to your tax advantage. Typically, it’s better to defer tax. This might end up being especially true this year, if tax reform legislation is signed into
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How Some Spouses Attempt to Hide Income and Assets During Divorce

Parties to divorce sometimes accuse their spouses of hiding income or assets. Unfortunately, such accusations occasionally are true.
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Promoting from Within Can Be a Recipe for Management Success

Promoting current, nonsupervisory employees to management positions can fulfill the employment needs of many organizations. You’ve just got to follow the right recipe.
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Tax Planning Critical When Buying a Business

If you acquire a company, your to-do list will be long, which means you can’t devote all of your time to the deal’s potential tax implications. However, if you neglect tax issues during the negotiation process, the negative consequences can be serious.
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How Your Nonprofit Can Avoid Investment Fraud

Investment fraud, such as Ponzi schemes, can cause significant financial losses for not-for-profits. But the harm it can cause an organization’s reputation with donors and the public may be even worse.
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Don’t Let Unethical Sales Spoil Your Company’s Success

If your sales team is willing to say whatever it takes to land a sale, it could hurt your company’s good name. So don’t overlook sales when building an ethical business culture.
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Financial Statements that Will Impress Your Nonprofit’s Stakeholders

Annual financial statements that have been audited by a professional auditor can help assure funders and lenders that your not-for-profit is financially sound. Audited results demonstrate professionalism and provide assurance that your results are free from errors and fraud.
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How to Preserve Fraud Evidence

Your first action when you uncover fraudulent activity should be to take proactive steps to preserve evidence. Otherwise, you might inadvertently destroy or discard critical data. And without evidence, fraud can’t be fully traced and perpetrators can’t be prosecuted and punished.
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