Jim Ulvog

Isn’t it great to be alive today? Christmas 1964 shopping list edition

Mark J. Perry at Carpe Diem often uses a delightful formula that consistently makes me thrilled to be alive today.

General formula is this:  You could have bought item X in whatever year. For the same amount of inflation adjusted dollars or same hours of labor, today you could buy X, plus Y and Z, along with A, B, C, D and E.

His post yesterday, The Magic and Miracle of the Marketplace: Christmas 1964 vs. 2011 – There’s No Comparison, has cool pictures from the 1964 Sears Christmas Catalog.

One of those really cool, great big, color TV consoles that takes up an entire wall could be had for $750 back then.  Adjusted for inflation, that would cost you $5,300 in 2010.  What could you buy today for inflation adjusted $5,500 today? His shopping list:

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Jim Ulvog

What impact does a change in GIK valuation have on financial statements? (Part 4 of a series)

Before looking at some actual financial statements that have been affected by the changes in valuation of GIK, I thought it would help to look at a simple picture.

This is a continuing series of posts looking at deworming meds, especially Mebendazole, which started here.

A major component of this discussion is new accounting rules that change the definition of how to value GIKs. Those changes are discussed here.

I am quickly learning that this whole GIK valuation thing is a bigger issue than I realized and already has some interest.  I hope I will be able to contribute to the discussion from the accounting side.

To illustrate the change in valuation rules, I have made up two sample financial statements. The numbers are small and simple so we can see the overall picture.  I set the internal relationships so they are representative of an actual NPO.

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Jim Ulvog

How I make corrections and updates to posts

This would be a good time to explain how I make changes on posts. The etiquette in the blogging world seems to be that changes and corrections should be clearly identified.  That’s a great idea.

Here’s my protocol:

The original comments will be left in the post.

Corrections and deletions will be marked through with strikeout.

Update comments will be identified Update: with the word update and italicized comment.

Small updates will be italicized right after a strikeout. For illustration example.

Minor typos will be corrected without a special notation, unless it has significance to the article.

With two different series of posts I’m working on now, I’m making a number of corrections, so thought it worthwhile to mention this.

Jim Ulvog

Gamesmanship in GIK valuations? Part 3

Two previous posts discussed the issues raised by an article in Forbes about the valuation used by some nonprofits in their financial statements for recording donations of deworming medicine.

I’d planned to look at the impact on some specific financial statements next, but think it would be better to look at what the accounting rules have to say before doing some number crunching.  This will be a really long post, so please bear with me.

The Forbes article by William P. Barrett is Donated Pills Make Some Charities Look Too Good on Paper.

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Jim Ulvog

Gamesmanship in GIK valuations? Part 2

Previous post discussed an accounting issue raised by Forbes about valuing deworming medicine.  Forbes magazine thinks some nonprofits are using a valuation that is too high for recording donated meds in their financial statements.

The Forbes article, by William P. Barrett, is Donated Pills Make Some Charities Look Too Good on Paper.

My first post describes some of the valuations that are in use. 

This post discusses where the valuation amounts came from.  (more…)

Jim Ulvog

Gamesmanship in GIK valuations? Part 1

Forbes magazine dives into the nonprofit community’s GIK valuation issue in an article by William P. Barrett, Donated Pills Make Some Charities Look Too Good On Paper. (In print the article had a cooler title – Magic Pill, Magical Accounting)

GIK valuation is difficult and messy.  Before anyone gets mad at me for airing dirty laundry from the NPO community, keep in mind that Forbes has a circulation that is somewhere in the range of, say, one gazillion times larger than this little blog.  The article appears in Forbes magazine guys, and on their website.  Don’t get mad at me.

My point in writing these posts?  The issues we are struggling with in the religious NPO world are getting attention from secular media.  It would be wise for NPOs and auditors to deal with this on our own. Quickly.

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Jim Ulvog

Technology can be used at the government level to monitor e-mail and social media

Some ministries are engaged in activities overseas that are moral and ethical by our standards but may not meet with full approval of the government of other countries.

If that is the case (and you know if that description applies to you!), you would be well advised to ponder the incredible technology capabilities available to governments.

I have a post at my other blog, Outrun Change, discussing a series of articles that have appeared in the Wall Street Journal.  My post:  Cool internet capabilities can be used for censorship and suppression of dissent.

Might be worth checking out that article.

Jim Ulvog

Rap video on government distortions of supply and demand

Check out Supply & Demand: A Thug Story

Government interference with the pricing mechanism produces shortages which are resolved by non-price mechanisms: discrimination, waiting lines, rationing, black markets, or favoritism.  Markets messed up?  Look for government messing with price signals to find the cause.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MY7E_VhKMM&feature=player_embedded#t=149]

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Jim Ulvog

New standard mileage rates for 2012

IRS announced new standard mileage rates for 2012 in Notice 2012-1:

55.5 cents per mile for all miles of business use (business standard mileage rate).

23 cents per mile for use of an automobile …for medical care

23 cents per mile for use …as part of a move for which the expenses are deductible

14 cents per mile for use of an automobile in rendering gratuitous services to a charitable organization

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Jim Ulvog

If you suspect fraud in your ministry, get help early

If you come across some things that make you think there are some shenanigans going on, your first reaction will be to look at it some more. 

While you will obviously want to look at something so you can understand it, don’t get too far into an investigation.  If you think you’re looking at actual fraud, you need help.  Someone trained in investigations.

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Jim Ulvog

What’s the impact when there is zero cost to distribute one more item?

I have a series of posts up on my other blog, Outrun Change, discussing the radical changes in how books, music, and video are distributed today without having to use a traditional middleman.  There is a dramatic shift when it doesn’t cost anything to make and distribute one more copy of something.

This doesn’t just impact writers and musicians.  This has a huge impact on nonprofits that want to get their message or resources out, or businesses that want to start producing materials for education and promotion.

Check these out:

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Jim Ulvog

Software tracks everything you do on a smart phone – yet another reason to be attentive to privacy issues

Software from an outfit called Carrier IQ seems to be available for all the smartphones, if it is not already loaded on all of them.  Their software can track everything you do, down to monitoring key strokes and web sites visited.

So what?  Think passwords to bank accounts, apps used, all data searches performed and what results were viewed.

Remember the discussion on your phone tracking your location every moment?  This goes beyond location tracking.

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Jim Ulvog

15 tips for QuickBooks

A Quick Guide to QuickBooks from the December Journal of Accountancy provides 15 great tips for more efficient and effective use of QuickBooks.  Check it out for ideas you haven’t seen before.

A few highlights of interest to small NPOs:

Memorized transactions – you can memorize recurring transactions, such as the rent or copier payment and have them posted automatically on a chosen day.

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Jim Ulvog