No meeting for December, 2007

Because the 4th Tuesday of December will fall on Christmas day, the nfpFMA programming committee has made the wise decision to cancel the December meeting!
Have a great holiday season and we'll see you at the next meeting, January 22, 2008.

Allocations Part I - Identify Direct Costs First

Allan Larson of Larson Allen facilitated an informative discussion about allocations Tuesday. One suggestion he gave was for those of us grappling with allocations to work in sequential steps, and begin by identifying direct from indirect costs. Code direct costs to the appropriate function instead of coding all administrative costs (direct or indirect) to allocation accounts. Allan pointed out that we'll save ourselves much aggravation if we take time during the invoice coding process to identify admin costs that can be directly coded to a function.

Allocations Part I - Topic for November 27, 2007

Join us on November 27, 2007 for the first of two meetings tackling the topic of allocations. Allan Larson of Larson Allen will lead a two-part discussion about allocations. Some of the points he will cover will include determining ways to allocate, deciding which accounts to allocate, the importance of a high operating efficiency percentage, direct donor benefit costs from special events, and the lack of nfp institutional standards for allocating. Also, Allan will discuss the relationship between his name and that of his firm. See you on the 27th!

403(b) Plans and You - Revocation of revenue ruling 90-24

On October 23, Dan McGee of Tax Deferred Services led a lively discussion about the changes taking place in 403(b) plans because of the revocation of revenue ruling 90-24. The revocation will require that all transfers be made to financial institutions with which the sponsor has set up "sharing agreements." Transfers to financial institutions with which sharing agreements have not been established will trigger early redemption penalties and taxes.

Dan recommends a four-step process to prepare for the 90-24 revocation:
1. Notify employees
2. Request sharing agreements from financial institutions
3. Alter the salary reduction agreement to state information about sharing agreements
4. Update your plan document