Nearly 50 nonprofit executive directors and board members attended the Good Works CONNECT convening: “Financial Responsibilities of Board Members” on October 7 from 12-2pm at the Champaign Public Library. The Community Foundation sponsored the event.
Kelly Duitsman Loschen, CPA and Audit Senior Manager at Martin Hood Friese & Associates, LLC, presented the workshop on the financial responsibilities of board members. She emphasized that the board’s role is to maintain financial accountability of their organizations to ensure the availability of resources to carry out the mission.
Specifically, she explained that board members act as trustees of the organization’s assets and must exercise due diligence to oversee that the organization is well-managed and that its financial situation remains sound. Board members need to carefully review and understand all financial statements, audits, and the organization’s annual 990. Each board member, she advised, needs to ask key questions and learn to recognize any red flags that need to be addressed.
Kelly and colleague Amanda Alt, CPA fielded questions from the group. Special thanks to Kelly and Amanda for sharing their time and expertise.