Published Articles

Accounting for Leases

ASC Topic 842 – Accounting for Leases The FASB’s new lease accounting standard has rapidly approached for organizations with operating and finance leases. Under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 842, […]

Social Clubs and the Employee Retention Credit

NCA Social Clubs and the Employee Retention Credit ClubDirector Spring 2021

Silos and the Social Club

HFTP Silos and the Social Club  

How does the COVID-19 “new normal” differ for city clubs and country clubs?

As the shockwave of COVID-19 swept the nation, state and local governments began to implement shutdowns in an effort to contain the virus.

New IRS Analysis of Problematic Activities

Tax-Exempt Clubs and UBTI

What your Club needs to know about the New Tax Act and its possible implications on the bottom line of clubs.

What are Good Governance Policies for Private, Tax-Exempt Clubs?

The Internal Revenue Service is increasing its focus on good corporate governance for tax-exempt organizations, including tax-exempt social clubs.

What are some of the trends in financing capital expenditures?

In reviewing financing for proposed capital expenditure projects, clubs consider the following alternatives:

What are some of the best practices for hiring club employees? Are background checks necessary?

From a financial perspective, the cost of a bad hire can be considerable, from the amount of time and money spent on hiring the individual to the unnecessary disruption it […]

What are the most common issues addressed in the management letter following a club audit? How should management respond?

Club operations have garnered increased attention from club boards during the recent economic downtown.  Pressure to cut costs inevitably results in internal controls suffering – specifically segregation of duties.  Crucial […]

What are some ways clubs can operate at maximum efficiency and cut down on their expenses?

The single biggest expense at a club is payroll, consuming more than 50 percent of each operating income dollar spent.  If a club cannot control its payroll and other related […]

Is your club’s tax-exemption at risk if it allows nonmember events to be held at your club?

  The Club’s tax-exemption is not at risk provided that the club acted within the applicable federal tax law.  For this answer, we refer to S. Rept. No. 94-1318 (1976), […]

What does it take to be a “well governed” club in the eyes of the IRS?

Clubs strive to be the best that they can be in providing services to their members.  in this pursuit of perfection, club leadership is generally interested in not only what […]

How are clubs dealing with regulations governing annual contributions to pension plans combined with low interest rates?

Over the last decade, clubs that offer a traditional defined benefit plan have seen changes in both financial reporting standards as well as modification to pension laws governing the funding […]

How should a club structure financing of capital expenditures?

Clubs strive to have their operations at least break even each year, before depreciation, thus eliminating the necessity of end of year assessments to cover operating deficits.  Club management must […]

New York Non Profits the facts on Fraud and Embezzlement

Certified public accountants Matthew O’Dell and Kevin Foley with Condon O’Meara McGinty & Donnelly LLP recently led an NPCC workshop discussing how to detect signs of duplicity and the controls […]

How important are separation of duties and strong internal controls in a club environment that does not handle cash and runs on a limited budget?

Occasionally you may hear about fraud at another club.  You may even hear a remark that fraud can not happen at our club because our club does not handle or […]

How much of the board’s work should be shared with the membership?

In an era of transparency, the question of how much of the board’s work should be shared with the membership becomes increasingly important.  The board must carefully weigh the quest […]

How does a club find the best board candidates?

Most public companies and many large nonprofit organizations have an unlimited pool of potential candidates to fill open board positions.  However, private clubs by their very nature are limited by […]

The fiduciary role of the audit committee in private clubs

What is the fiduciary role of the audit committee in private clubs?  It is the audit committee’s job to assist the club’s board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities by monitoring […]

The Top Ten Things that Every Well-run Private Club Should Have

In the pursuit of club perfection, club leadership is not only interested in what other well-run clubs do but also in what would be described as "best practices."

Sarbanes-Oxley and Social Clubs and Other Tax-Exempt Organizations

With the exception of whistleblower protection and record-retention rules, the mandate of the The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) does not extend to organizations that are not subject to securities laws, including […]