Month: October 2019

A Halloween costume that would make any CPA pass out from fright – an auditor performing one pension plan audit

Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Amid the cute little kids in their funny costumes, this pleasant Halloween night there was a grown man in a suit at the door asking for candy. White shirt, red tie, gray pinstripe.

Not so scary, thought I.

“What are you dressed up as?”

“An auditor,” came the reply.

That’s not frightening, since I’ve been an auditor for a long time. But it did explain the old-style, standard issue uniform.

So, putting on my peer reviewer hat, I asked, “what audit work do you do?”

“Oh, only one pension plan….

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Jim Ulvog

How big is the world of donated medicine? Updated estimate.

Medical factory storage warehouse. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

This post updates the previous estimate of the volume of donated medicine for the relief & development community of the nonprofit world.

There are a few charities receiving big volumes of medicine donated by the pharmaceutical companies. Those charities then get all those meds distributed to charity clinics and hospitals around the world. That is incredible work which is improving the lives of millions upon millions of poor people around the world.

Following is an estimate of the size of that sector, with subtotal of charities with over $20 million of donated medicine and supplies, under $20 million, and zero reported meds:

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Jim Ulvog

Additional sentencing, plea deals, and charges in college admissions scandal

Entrance to the University of Southern California. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

In the last week and a half, there have been two more parents sentenced with four entering plea deals.  Additional charges have been brought against parents who are still fighting the charges.

One parent released

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Jim Ulvog

Six more parents sentenced in “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal.

Residence of Felicity Huffman for the next 14 days: Federal Correctional Institution_Dublin California Overhead View by Prison Insight is licensed under CC BY 2.0

That makes #4 through #9 that have been sentenced.

First of the parents has reported for her free federal housing.

Other articles:

10/15/19 – NPR – Felicity Huffman Begins 14-Day Prison Term in College Admissions Scandal – She reported early for her 14 day sentence.

On 10/16/19, the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator website shows her with register 77806-112, located at Dublin FCI, with release date of 10/27/19.  That means she would have actually reported on 10/13/19, I think.  Dublin FCI is low security federal institution with an adjacent low security satellite camp. It is located in Alameda county, California.  See overhead photo above.

10/15/19 – Wall Street Journal – In College-Admissions Case, Lawyers for Coaches, Others Move to Dismiss Charges – A number of parents are filing motions that the conspiracy charges are cast too wide, including parents who weren’t participating with anyone, thus the charges are more severe than they ought to be. I don’t understand the purpose of the argument, but appears to be effort to separate some of the less-involved parents from the taint of being publicly associated with the more severe cases.

Details of sentencing

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Jim Ulvog

Presentation at CalCPA Accounting and Auditing conference: “California GAAP” – A case study in valuation of donated medicine

Image courtesy of CalCPA.

On October 24 at 3:55 I will be speaking at the California Society of CPAs Accounting and Auditing Conference where industry speakers and experts will provide comprehensive updates on current issues and emerging trends. The conference runs the 24th and 25th.

My topic is valuation of donated medicine in the not-for-profit community. I have the privilege of working with a 75 minute block of time.

If you are able to attend the session you will gain an understanding of the long-term enforcement effort at the federal and state level regarding valuation of donated meds. My concern is that the governor’s veto of AB 1181 is not the end of the enforcement actions considering what has happened over the last 9 years.

Title of the session is “California GAAP” – A case study in valuation of donated medicine.

Overview of the session from the conference schedule:

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Jim Ulvog

Governor vetoes AB 1181. More details and background on override.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

On Saturday October 12, 2019, Governor Newsom vetoed California AB 1181. The bill would require charities filing financial statements with the state Registry of Charitable Trusts to value donated medicine at the fair value in the market the medicine would be distributed.

Essentially this would have required charities to use values in the international market instead of the U.S. market.

The governor announce a list of bills he signed and vetoed. You can find the list here. By my count he signed 69 and vetoed 58 on Saturday.

Veto message

The governor’s veto message can be read here. In it he said:

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Jim Ulvog

Governor vetoes AB 1181

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

On Saturday October 12, 2019, Governor Newsom vetoed California Assembly Bill 1181, which would have required charities filing financial statements with the state Registry of Charitable Trusts to value donated medicine at the fair value in the end recipient market. Essentially this would have required charities filing in the state to use values in the international market instead of the U.S. market.

More discussion will follow later today.

Update: more details in followup post.

Update: The post you are reading here was the initial one published immediately after I learned the governor vetoed the bill. Later on Sunday a wrote a longer post which provided far more background. For some reason, the majority of traffic coming into this blog is going to this short post. To provide more value to those arrive in this page, I will copy the additional info on the longer post here. Hope this info is helpful.

Followup to this post, which was previously published here. Additional info is the text of the governor’s veto message, background on the veto override protocol, and my assessment whether the bill is totally, completely dead or not:

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Jim Ulvog

More details on Food for the Poor’s settlement with Michigan Attorney General

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Previous discussion on 10/4/18 provided details on a settlement between Food for the Poor and the Michigan Attorney General.

Prior post provided explanation of the FFP appeal claiming 95% efficiency, the cost of 6 cents to provide a meal, and joint cost allocation of speakers who go out to raise funds.

I have obtained and read a copy of the settlement agreement with the AG.  There are a few more details that are worth describing.

Penalties

The settlement agreement was effective 9/27/18. It was announced the next day.

FFP denies their appeals were misleading and denies any violation of state law. They also deny doing anything wrong.  The charity does recognize

“…that modifying its solicitations would better emphasize its impact, as well as achieve greater transparency. Food For The Poor worked with the Department to modify its solicitation materials and resolve the Department’s concerns.”

FFP agreed to pay $250,000 to two charities in Michigan which feed poor people. The charity also agreed to pay the AG $50,000 as reimbursement for their litigation costs.

Issues and resolutions

Efficiency claims 

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Jim Ulvog

Discussion of possible ramifications and compliance issues for AB 1181.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Nicola White has an article at Bloombergtax.com discussing the ripple effects of AB 1181 along with some pondering on compliance issues for charities and auditors:  California Drug Bill Could Hike Accounting Costs for Charities.

Full disclosure:  I am quoted in the article. Scary step for me is this was my first on-the-record interview. This is only the second time I’ve been quoted in an article.

This article is not behind a paywall.

If you have been following the GIK issue, you will want to read the full article.

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Jim Ulvog

Accessible copies of Final Cease and Desist Orders from California AG

The order may be final but case is not finished. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

If you are so interested, you can read for yourself the final cease and desist orders from the California AG against MAP International, Catholic Medical Mission Board, and Food for the Poor. They may be found at:

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Jim Ulvog

Recent articles and comments on GIK valuation

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

There has been little discussion of the GIK valuation issue, especially regarding AB 1181, that I have noticed over recent weeks. Here are all the public comments I have seen. Let me know anything I missed.

Before getting to five articles, a quick minor comment on AB 1181.  It was officially enrolled on 9/18/19. As of this morning (10/2/19) the exact status of the bill is that on 9/25/19 it was “Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.” according to the bill’s history.

I’m still playing catch-up on understanding the legislative process here in California. I now know that a bill must go through ‘engrossing and enrolling’ before going to the Governor for his consideration. Based on looking at some other bills, the next step after presentation to Governor is for him to sign. Then the bill is ‘chaptered’, or given an official location in the state statutes.

All that detail means the bill could not have been signed by the Governor before 9/25/19.

According to the Assembly’s legislative calendar, the governor has through 10/13/19 to either sign or veto bills.

Articles

Bloomberg Tax – 8/21/19 – Crackdown May Stop Charities From Inflating Cost of Donations

Article provides good background on the medical GIK issue. Gives good, brief background on the FTC case against four charities in 2015. Also summarizes the new FASB project.

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Jim Ulvog