Jim Ulvog

Why I am so optimistic – 2

200 years ago subsistence agriculture was the norm across the planet. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
200 years ago brutal poverty was the norm across the planet. Not so today. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Previously mentioned when I look at long-term economic trends I am incredibly optimistic. When I look at the headlines this morning or news from the political world, I am very discouraged.

To see one illustration of why I am so optimistic for the long-term, check out a column by Glenn Reynolds at USA Today: Actually, things are pretty good / Free markets and free inquiry have changed the historic ‘norms’ of poverty and violence.

Earlier post summarized in one paragraph what caused this radical improvement.

Here are a final two points from the article I’d like to highlight:

Second, it is possible for us collectively to turn back history.

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Jim Ulvog

Why I am so optimistic – 1

200 years ago subsistence agriculture was the norm across the planet. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
200 years ago brutal poverty was the norm across the planet. Not so today. Photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

When I look at the political news or any news in general I get very pessimistic about our future.

In contrast, when I look at the amazing things happening beyond the headlines in today’s newspaper I feel incredibly optimistic.

Consider that private companies are developing the technology for space exploration. Consider the energy revolution created by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Consider radical changes in technology that are making so many things easier, faster, and cheaper. Consider that anyone that wants to do so can publish their own book, distribute their own music, or create a feature movie.

As a tiny illustration, look at my company and pastimes. Technology allows me to run a high quality CPA practice without any staff. In my spare time I am a publisher and journalist. Anyone in Europe or North America or most of Asia could easily do the same and at minimal cost.

When I look at long-term economic trends I am incredibly optimistic.

For yet one more explanation of why that is the case, consider a column by Glenn Reynolds at USA Today: Actually, things are pretty good / Free markets and free inquiry have changed the historic ‘norms’ of poverty and violence.

Until relatively recently, an illness-filled short life of dirt-eating poverty was the normal condition for practically everybody on the planet. In the last 100 or 200 years life has gotten radically better for practically everyone.

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Jim Ulvog

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Do you see a vase or two faces? Answer depends on your opinion and perspective. Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Do you see a vase or two faces? Answer depends on your perspective. What is your opinion? Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Philosiblog discusses this quote from the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius:

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.

Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

Philosiblog ponders the quote in the context of personal relationships. (Check out the link above.) Everything a person tells you is filtered by their worldview and their perspective of what they discuss. Likewise, you filter their comments based on your worldview and your perspective of what they said. You filter everything you see through your perspective.

(Cross post from my other blog, Outrun Change.)

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Jim Ulvog

“No one wants to be a beggar for life” – “Poverty, Inc.”

consequences facing facts and accept consequence of acts take and face responsibilities
photo courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Poverty, Inc. is a documentary from a group by the same name. You can see the trailer at those links.

The way we, that is, the developed world, are doing international development is broken. One comment in the movie from an economist in Africa tells the story:  emergency relief is the standard model used for decades to end poverty and suffering.

That isn’t working.

As another speaker says:

“No one wants to be a beggar for life”

I read two reviews of the movie, one from a center-left perspective and one from a center-right perspective. Both praise the movie and share in the criticism of big aid.

The documentary won several awards at a libertarian film festival and then won best documentary at a progressive film festival. Imagine that!

Guess which of the following two columnists made this comment?

It’s almost like anybody with a populist outlook and, you know, a brain between their ears and a heart between their shoulders, has got to look at our current system of international development and aid and say there’s something deeply wrong.

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Jim Ulvog

Journalist returns call to scammer who claimed to be from the IRS. Entertainment and laughter follows.

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Most people hang up on robocalls from charities. If there is a real person, I ask them to go into their spiel and then set the phone down, letting the caller waste a minute or two of their time.

William P. Barrett, writing at New To Seattle, actually takes those calls. He then dissects the charity’s financial statements showing the minimal amount of charity taking place in some organizations.

To the repeat offenders he awards the title of “America’s Stupidest Charities.”

You probably know scammers have a new scheme of falsely claiming to be from the IRS. Their spiel is you’re just about to be arrested for failing to pay back taxes, the police are on the way to your home, but you can avoid going to jail today by settling up right now by sending money on a prepaid debit card or wire transfer.

Mr. Barrett called back to the number provided in a robocall. The person answering spoke poor English and sounded like he was calling from a boiler room.

He describes the call in his post, Scammers invoking the IRS inundate Seattle.

How did that conversation go? Quite entertainingly.

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Jim Ulvog

Here’s a new scam you may not have heard about: e-mail from your boss telling you to wire some money to a ministry partner right away

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Let’s say you are the controller in the finance office. Let’s say your boss sends you an email telling you to wire some money to a new organization in the field that he just met because they have the ability to do something great and they need the funds to seize the opportunity right now. Today. Oh, the amount is within budget and he gives you the routing information for the wire. Email is signed using your boss’ nickname and based on a quick glance, the e-mail address is legit.

You quickly send the wire, right?

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Jim Ulvog

California Attorney General sues charity and their auditor over RRF-1 filing and 990

909 page 1

Sometimes there is a perception in the charity community that those pesky filings with the charity regulators are no big deal. Sometimes board members don’t pay much attention to the 990.

Well, last week the California AG sued one charity in the state for allegedly misleading information in the RRF-1. That is a simple one-page form that has only two numbers: total revenue and total assets. The AG claims the 990s have misleading information in them.

How can the AG of a state sue over a tax return filed with the federal government? Here is the path they take. They allege the one page RFF-1 was misleading because attached to the RRF-1 is the federal 990, which is where they find the information that they consider to be misleading. That gives the state grounds to sue.

The sobering lesson for CPAs who serve the charity community is the AG also sued the CPA firm. In addition, they sued the audit partner personally.

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Jim Ulvog

If your NPO does work overseas, might be worth pondering the risks again

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

If your ministry recruits staff and sends them overseas to carry out your programs, you might want to spend a bit more time thinking about the risks your staff face.

A court ruling in Norway found a charity liable for the physical injuries, psychological harm, and aftercare of a staffer who was kidnapped in Kenya and held four days before being rescued. The staffer was shot in the leg. The incident understandably left this staffer with post-traumatic stress disorder. Another staffer was killed.

The court noted the organization treated this and other staff persons as troublemakers because they complained internally about the lack of aftercare.

The court found the Norwegian Refugee Counsel guilty of gross negligence and liable for damages equal to US$500,000. The court also criticized the follow-on security investigation and found that NRC improperly accessed the risks that staff faced. The court noted other staff persons were upset with their aftercare.

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Jim Ulvog

The underside of the charity world

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Bad stuff is everywhere. Call it evil if you wish. Or simply sin.

The underside of the charity world needs to be addressed and dealt with. Here are two articles, one secular and one spiritual, on how to deal with bad stuff.

Also a general article on complexity. I have been holding all three articles for a few months. Time to post them.

On dealing with bad stuff

7/21 – New York Times – Denver Church’s Security Efforts Highlight New Reality – Check out the five-minute video. It is superb.

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Jim Ulvog

“How to get ready for a financial audit”

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

The website XPastor discussed How to Get Ready for a Financial Audit. Figuring out how to get going on an audit for the first time is a challenge. Main points from a CPA who is now an executive pastor:

Hire an audit firm

This is a board responsibility. Staff helps but it needs to be driven by the board with the real decision made there.

Meet with the auditors before the audit

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Jim Ulvog

Ideas on how to *not* mess up your pastor’s taxes

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Elaine Sommerville, CPA, explains The Two Most Confusing Aspects of Classifying Your Minister for Tax Purposes at Church Law & Tax.

A frequent source of confusion for handling ministers’compensation is Social Security and Medicare taxes. Federal law defines ministers of the gospel as being subject to the Employed Contributions Act (SECA) instead of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), which is what all of us are most familiar with. The SECA rules usually come into play for self-employed people.

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Jim Ulvog

Looking for ways to beef up internal controls in a small organization?

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

Small charities usually cannot afford enough staff to put in place great internal controls. If you want a few ideas on how to make modest improvements at low cost, Charles Hall suggests How to Lessen Segregation of Duties Problems in Two Easy Steps.

Second set of eyes on bank statements

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Jim Ulvog

FASB splits revision of NPO accounting into two workstreams

Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com
Image courtesy of DollarPhotoClub.com

On October 28, 2015, FASB voted to split in two the exposure draft to overhaul presentation of not-for-profit financial statements. You can see their summary of the decision here, although that appears to be a dynamic link and the discussion will likely move soon. Extract of minutes on this issue on can be found here. That appears to be a link that will be in place a long time.

Reason for breaking this in two is that some components of the exposure draft received serious pushback. Those items will be considered in more detail and addressed at a later, yet-to-be-determined date.

The less contentious items will move forward “in the near term.” One article I read, but for which I don’t know how to provide a link, said FASB hopes to have what they call workstream one finished in mid-2016.

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Jim Ulvog