Last month AICPA held its annual Not-for-Profit Financial Executive Forum in San Francisco, Calif. CBIZ and Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. were once again sponsors and participants of the conference. Employees of CBIZ MHM received a discount off their conference registration, and the night before the conference began, CBIZ and MHM held a dinner reception for CBIZ MHM attendees.

The conference addressed the challenges and opportunities facing the not-for-profit sector. Break-out session identified particular areas of interest for not-for-profit organizations including form 990 issues, social media, cloud computing, strategy development, federal grants, legal issues, compensation and benefits and accounting practice updates. Below is a summary of the session takeaways:

Compensations Tips and Traps for Reporting on Form 990 urged financial executives to know the reporting requirements around their organization's compensation plans. The session also suggested executives work with their tax compliance team to ensure their IRS Form 990 meets their organization's preferred level of disclosure. The IRS' Colleges and Universities Compliance Project findings formed the basis of a discussion about how detailed it must be to establish comparability.

The Power of Social Media encouraged executives to consider creative uses for Facebook and Twitter. Suggestions that came from the session included using photos and games to capture the interest of the not-for-profit's target audience.

Cloud Computing Risks examined the questions executives should consider when deciding whether to use cloud computing software. The session asked executives to consider costs, information security and what an agreement with a service provider should contain.

A session on federal grant reform focused on the proposed consolidation of the eight current OMB circulars into one master document for federal agencies to adopt into codified regulations. The change would mark one of the most significant federal fund management changes in decades.

Keeping Your Not-For-Profit Legal House in Order outlined the Attorney General Office's rights to take action against not-for-profit organizations that are out of compliance with donor stipulations. The session suggested best practices for Conflict of Interest Policies and other donor stipulation policies.

The GAAP Update session focused on changes that would affect net asset reporting requirements. Currently, totals for each of the three asset classes must be presented on the face of the statement of financial position. Changes in the asset classes must be presented on the face of the statement activities. The Board has decided to move forward with drafting similar requirements for two of the net asset classes, the class that carries assets with donor-imposed restrictions and the class that carries assets without donor-imposed restrictions. The new requirements would replace the existing requirements. The Board also intends to make conforming changes to the net asset classes' terminology and definitions.

Among the Financial Executive Forum's other topics were how to successfully activate and implement strategies into not-for-profit organizations and the Affordable Care Act's effect on not-for-profit organizations.

The Not-for-Profit Executive Forum provided a packed couple of days of first-class educational sessions. For more information on any of the topics covered at the conference, contact your local CBIZ MHM office.

Copyright © 2013, CBIZ, Inc. All rights reserved. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced without the express written consent of CBIZ. To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that-unless specifically indicated otherwise-any tax advice in this communication is not written with the intent that it be used, and in fact it cannot be used, to avoid penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or to promote, market, or recommend to another person any tax related matter. This publication is distributed with the understanding that CBIZ is not rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. The reader is advised to contact a tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information. CBIZ assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with the use of this information and assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect the information contained herein.

CBIZ MHM is the brand name for CBIZ MHM, LLC, a national professional services company providing tax, financial advisory and consulting services to individuals, tax-exempt organizations and a wide range of publicly-traded and privately-held companies. CBIZ MHM, LLC is a fully owned subsidiary of CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE: CBZ).