Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices [Hardcover]

Warren Ruppel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0471697419 | ISBN-13: 978-0471697411 | Edition: 1

How can not-for-profit organizations be sure they play by the rules when the rules aren't clear?

Due to recent, very public accounting scandals and the resulting Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations, public companies have strict guidance on financial governance and accounting, including the functions and responsibilities of audit committee members. Though not-for-profit organizations are subject to increased scrutiny, there has been no detailed guidance for their audit committees. This book fills the void and helps not-for-profit organizations answer these questions:
* In today's skeptical environment, how can responsible financial governance and reporting reassure wary donors and supporters, and perhaps give the organization a competitive advantage?
* How should the audit committee be structured?
* Which Sarbanes-Oxley requirements (if any) should the audit committee adopt?
* Which best practices best fit the organization's structure and financial reporting needs?


Complete with checklists, sample questions, and an index for quick reference, Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices covers:
* Different types and unique characteristics of not-for-profit organizations
* The audit committee's role in preventing and detecting fraud
* Important internal controls and the internal audit function
* The relationship of the audit committee and the independent auditor


This heads-up, hands-on guide helps audit committee members select and structure appropriate best practices and function in the most effective manner for their unique not-for-profit organizations. It's also a valuable reference for board members, managers, independent auditors, and advisors of not-for-profit organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The recent flagrant accounting and reporting abuses by several large public companies cast a shadow of suspicion on all organizations, including not-for-profit entities. The resulting regulations and legislation, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, established stringent standards for the audit committees of public companies. While the letter of the law doesn't apply to not-for-profit entities, increasingly they are finding that they must adopt strict standards in order to satisfy donors, potential donors, supporters, and other stakeholders. However, there is no set of rules for audit committees of not-for-profit organizations.

This book helps not-for-profit organizations cut through the chaos and confusion, analyze various proven financial and reporting methodologies, and implement the best practices and safeguards that best fit their organizations. Written in plain language, it is a straightforward, authoritative reference for those serving not-for-profit organizations, including audit committee members, individuals serving on boards of directors, managers, independent auditors, and legal advisors. It covers:

• An overview of the operating environment and financial reporting function
• Guidelines for establishing an audit committee
• The best uses of an internal audit function
• How to implement an effective whistleblower program
• The audit committee's relationship with the independent auditor
• Creating an effective audit committee action plan

Complete with checklists for various activities of auditing committees and sample questions for committee members to ask, this book provides guidance on financial governance and reporting and helps not-for-profit auditing committees adopt and implement the best practices tailored for their organizations.

From the Back Cover

How can not-for-profit organizations be sure they play by the rules when the rules aren't clear?

Due to recent, very public accounting scandals and the resulting Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations, public companies have strict guidance on financial governance and accounting, including the functions and responsibilities of audit committee members. Though not-for-profit organizations are subject to increased scrutiny, there has been no detailed guidance for their audit committees. This book fills the void and helps not-for-profit organizations answer these questions:

• In today's skeptical environment, how can responsible financial governance and reporting reassure wary donors and supporters, and perhaps give the organization a competitive advantage?
• How should the audit committee be structured?
• Which Sarbanes-Oxley requirements (if any) should the audit committee adopt?
• Which best practices best fit the organization's structure and financial reporting needs?

Complete with checklists, sample questions, and an index for quick reference, Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices covers:

• Different types and unique characteristics of not-for-profit organizations
• The audit committee's role in preventing and detecting fraud
• Important internal controls and the internal audit function
• The relationship of the audit committee and the independent auditor

This heads-up, hands-on guide helps audit committee members select and structure appropriate best practices and function in the most effective manner for their unique not-for-profit organizations. It's also a valuable reference for board members, managers, independent auditors, and advisors of not-for-profit organizations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471697419
• ISBN-13: 978-0471697411
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Content Terrible Editing, September 27, 2008

By 

J. W. Boyes (Cleveland Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices (Hardcover)

This is a good book to establish principles for a not for profit audit committee. It does what it claims to do. It was recommended by our auditors and we gave a copy to each member of our audit committee to help them get direction with a new responsibility.

I do need to bring one point to the foreground. The editing on this book is terrible. There are many misspellings and quite a few things that made it through the spell check but were clearly wrong. I have several other books in this series and this seems to be a feature of this publisher. This however was the worst of the bunch (that I have read to date).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Audit Committee Necessity, October 1, 2009

By 

Company Card Seven (Reston VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices (Hardcover)

We are a relatively new not-for-profit and have recently established an Audit Committee within our oversite board of directors. Beyond knowing it was appropriate to establish this committee we knew very little about the role it should take in the organization. This book not only gives specific guidelines to what an Audit committee should be responsible for it gives sample documents that you can easily customize to your companies specific needs. A great book that I have gone to many times to answer questions that come up as we move forward.