Mark Koscinski NFP

Last Round of Horseshoes for Summer 2021

Last Round of Horseshoes for Summer 2021

As Labor Day approaches many organizations are returning to the office and schools will be holding in person classes. We can only hope and  pray the pandemic will abate as we move through the rest of the year.   As summer fades away, it is now time for the last round of NFP horseshoes for the Summer of 2021. For the sake of brevity, I won’t repeat the scoring rules here as I have already done that earlier this Summer. 

A Ringer!–RSM LLP, a large accounting and consulting firm,  acquires C Systems, a technology services provider to the NFP world. To be sure, RSM is known for its presence in the NFP world, but this acquisition shows their confidence in the rebound of this sector. Perhaps it is a good sign for all those working in the NFP world!  PNC Bank also recently spoke about the increased potential of merger and acquisitions in the NFP sector. (Access the article here.) You can read the press release from RSM here. As an aside, RSM offers continuing education courses for NFP personnel that can be accessed here. 

A Ringer! Moceans CIL going strong! Moceans CIL is a center for independent living, serving Monmouth and Ocean counties NJ.  Despite the pandemic, the staff of Moceans continues to serve their client base. They  and  all the NFP organizations that have persevered through the pandemic are to be commended for their dedication to their mission. The MOCEANS website can be found here.  May they  and all NFP organizations continue to have good fortune in their future endeavors. 

Missed the Stake.  The Trial of Cardinal Becciu adjourned until October. The trial of the former papal chief of staff  (or, sostituto as the position is known) started in late July and was adjourned until early October.  Yes, Italy tends to shut down for the month of August so that explains some of the delay. However, it seems there has been a certain level of incompetence in the management of the trial.  For instance, the defense has not received all of the evidence against Angelo Cardinal Becciu yet.  One can only hope the Vatican has the wherewithal to deal with such a complicated trial.  That remains to be seen. Pope Francis has made some strides lately to clean up the corruption of the Vatican Curia (including this trial) , but it seems it is too little and way too late in his pontificate. I won’t even get into the petty corruption and graft that exists in all of the dioceses around the world. The Catholic Church is arguably the largest NFP entity in the world and should set the standard for Good Stewardship of the Faithful’s assets for not only the Vatican curia but for all dioceses throughout the world.  Sadly, this has not been the case. 

Missed the Stake.  FASB has not delayed the implementation of ASC 842.  For those of you who aren’t aware, ASC 842 is the new lease accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).  Due to the pandemic, the previous effective date has been delayed for NFP entities that begin their fiscal year after December 21, 2021.  While one might think that this gives NFPs the whole year to get the lease accounting under control, that is not correct.  ASC 842 is effective for interim financial periods as well.  So, if the NFP has to provide financial information to lenders on a quarterly basis it needs to get cracking on this project now.  One has to wonder though.  Many NFP organizations are having a hard time operating in the pandemic as it is. This is just one more burden for them.   Will they be sacrificed on the altar of theoretically correct accounting? Would it have been so traumatic for the FASB to grant one more extension? 

Wel, that wraps up our horseshoe games for this summer!  The semester at Moravian University has is starting so I will be concentrating on that for a while.  I hope you had a great summer. Stay healthy!

Mark Koscinski Uncategorized

NFP Horseshoes–June 2020

Even though social distancing is still in effect in many Northeastern states, summer time has arrived.  As we approach the Summer Solstice, it is once again time to play  Not-For-Profit Horseshoes.  You remember the game.  A ringer counts for three points.  A double ringer is six.  Closest to the stake is one point, and a leaner is two. (The points for a learner is a local rule, not generally accepted!)

Here are some of the players and their scores in  recent  months:

Apple Computer–a  rare double ringer  for offering individualized lessons to college professors using the iPad and  Apple pencil. Professors such as myself have to spend a lot of time staying current with the subject material we teach let alone mastering new technology in the post-COVID world.  Apple has been making things a lot easier for everyone at colleges and universities, and our classes will be all the better for it.  The double ringer was awarded since Apple originally offered the free lessons through May, but has since extended the program through June.  This is a great example of corporate social responsibility. 

Rutgers University– My alma mater was nowhere near the stake in the  last issue of the alumni magazine. Rutgers was making a plea for donations since it expects its budget to be cut.  As I mentioned in previous blog entries, COVID-19 had hit not only NFP organizations but also state and local governments.  New Jersey funds about twenty percent of Rutgerts’ budget, and the university quite rightly expects there will be budget cuts.  In the same issue, Rutgers proudly talks about  rehiring Greg Schiano, a former head football coach both in the NFL and at Rutgers.  A quick internet search shows his salary is an eye popping  $4 million per year plus a king’s ransom for his  staff’s salary. I won’t go through the story of Schiano’s previous tenure as head football coach at Rutgers or the faculty’s reaction to his return, but it is  not a pretty one. As if this wasn’t enough, the magazine also  had a picture of a former president of Rutgers who is being paid a queen’s ransom for being a  professor after his troubled tenure as  president.  Such media sensitivity will undoubtedly increase alumni donations. Right. 

The Vatican–Have you heard the expression “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?”  Unfortunately, the Vatican’s last pitch of the horseshoes isn’t even within the explosive radius of a hand grenade to the stake as it is dealing with the recent $225 million dollar plus London real estate scandal. This transaction was  initiated by the Office of the Papal Secretary of State, the Pope’s Prime Minister.  The sad part is the funds involved were purportedly generated by the annual Peter’s Pence collection, which the Vatican claims goes for humanitarian and mission work. It seems a couple of laymen will be tried in a Vatican court and that will be the end of that.  Of course, no senior Vatican officials were involved, right?  Hey, where is that final report on Cardinal McCarrick anyway?  You would think the need for financial transparency would have been learned long ago. It remains to be seen how the bad news that seems to be continually flowing from Rome will be taken by the faithful around the world. 

Mark Koscinski Uncategorized

Another Round of Horseshoes

Time for Another Round of Horseshoes!

This blog started using horseshoe scoring for important events in the NFP and state government world.  Here is the result of the second round of horseshoes: 

A Double Ringer–that’s right, six points!  Rare indeed for this column. The double ringer was scored by the Bill  and Melinda Gates Foundation, combined with the Rotary. Yes, I know. I am not a big Bill Gates fan.  However, only the most bitter of critics would not acknowledge his foundation and the Rotary may commit  up to $1.5 billion to end childhood polio in the world. We in the United States have taken this for granted for a long time. Hopefully, the rest of the world will be able to do so as well soon. The following websites have more information:   

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2017/06/12/gates-foundation-and-rotary-pledge-additional-450-million-to-end-polio/#78aa249a65ec

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-development/polio

Missing the stake–Following the lead of several other states,  New Jersey is considering banning independent contractor status.  Businesses are already fleeing the State because of high tax rates and the inhospitable climate there.  The current Governor and his administration is devising yet another way to impose a burden on business. Governor Murphy is in line to receive the Grinch award at this holiday season.  Additional information can be found at:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/proposed-new-jersey-legislation-threatens-independent-contractors

Not only missing the stake, but the entire horseshoe pit— The former mayor of Baltimore was indicted on eleven counts of  fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion charges. To be sure, the mayor is entitled to the presumption of innocence and her day in court. The articles on this webpage have talked about the need for internal control in NFP and governmental entities. The most critical component of internal control is the control environment, often referred to as the “tone at the top”.  If the head of the organization and the executive management exhibit a concern for effective internal control then the rest of the organization will too. Perhaps this sounds a bit cynical, but if the person at the top of the pyramid is alleged to be defrauding other people, including NFP entities, the finance department and the auditors may want to be a little more cautious as they are carrying out their duties. 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-pugh-20191120-kzmc2v7cafetjladglhgnyusdy-story.html

Mark Koscinski Uncategorized

Horseshoes

Horseshoes is a familiar lawn game in the United States, especially during the summer holiday seasons.  The rules of the game and scoring are simple. Players throw the horseshoe at a stake about forty feet away.  A horseshoe completely enveloping the stake (called a “ringer”) is worth three points; one leaning on the stake (called a “leaner”) is worth two points; and the closest to the stake is worth one point if there are no ringers or leaners.   I will be using this scale to rate some Not-For-Profit (“NFP”) entities in the news recently.

A Ringer:  Grant Thornton, an international accounting firm, announced it will help smaller NFP entities with financing.  Larger NFP organizations can find funding more easily than smaller entities. A smaller entity might be doing excellent work in a niche area and may never attain enough critical mass to attract funders.  Alternatively, an NFP might be in a start-up phase and is struggling with working capital.  Grant Thornton is graciously funding selected NFPs through its Purple Paladin program. For more information, please see their website at: https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/foundations/grant-thornton-launches-funding-for-emerging-npos/. This is wonderful news from a great organization. 

A Leaner:  Amtrak anticipates breaking even in 2020, fantastic news for this railroad system since it has run losses for almost fifty years.   The most recent year saw Amtrak posting an operating loss of approximately $30 million (that’s right—million with an “m” and not billion with a “b”) dollars, setting the stage for its first breakeven year.  This would be fantastic, not only for the taxpayers and Amtrak riders, but for those with a sense of nostalgia.  W.W. Rostow (who was unfortunately called ‘Bomber Rostow” by one of my professors because of his support of the Vietnam War) claimed railroads were a leading industry in the development of the United States.  While this theory has drawn much criticism, it is fair to say the railroads were an important part of American history.

Completely Missing the Stake:  The U. S. Post Office estimated its loss for this fiscal year could be $8 billion.  Even worse, there is no turnaround in sight. The amount of first-class mail will continue to decline, and its unfunded pension liability has been estimated to be about $40 billion.  You don’t have to be a business school graduate to figure out declining revenues with big liabilities is not a good thing.

If you have any other favorites, please forward them to me for my next game of horseshoes!