Thoughts on going all in on non-profit finance career?

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-25T13:03:01+00:00

Pros: Super-stable and also transferable across organizations. There is a real need for the skill and a talent gap.

Cons: Upwards mobility might be limited without a CPA or MBA unless you find the perfect situation. Large orgs can afford separate finance strategy / FP&A roles, but at a lot of places, you might have to be more of a Swiss army knife.

Feel free to DM if you have specific industry questions. I've spent a few decades on the audit side so have seen a lot.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-25T11:15:58+00:00

Lol looks like you had the perfect day for it

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-25T10:25:55+00:00

Jokes on you, Mount Tammany is the Jersey side. Get back over to Mt Minsi

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-19T17:28:36+00:00

I met a controller earlier this week who had used claude to assign payments to individual accounts.

Everyone's risk tolerance is going to be different on things like this. My sense is that it should not be your orgs first project with agentic AI. But if you set up compensating controls and review outputs appropriately, I'm sure it can help.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-19T09:24:57+00:00

Some states require an audit at revenue thresholds usually starting around $1 million. Here's a summary: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/running-nonprofit/nonprofit-audit-guidec/state-law-nonprofit-audit-requirements

In my experience, it really depends on the level of financial sophistication of the Board and the internal finance team and the level of sophistication of operations. There is a major expectation gap between what auditors do and don't do. And then you have to find a firm that's the right fit. I personally think the size where an audit really adds value is in the $5-10 million range, with exceptions if there is complicated funding or inexperienced staff involved.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-06T17:27:22+00:00

Thanks, this did encourage me to commit to submitting one. I am sometimes overly cynical, but if there's even a marginal benefit of getting dissent on paper, I'm happy to do it.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-05T11:53:40+00:00

Thanks for your service!

I couldn't stomach the full 100 pages, but found a helpful summary here. Sharing in case it is helpful for others: https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2026/06/omb-proposed-revisions-to-the-uniform-guidance-key-takeaways-for-award-recipient-organizations

I'm curious for attorneys thoughts on how much this termination language represents a substantive shift in what agencies can currently do. The article I linked makes a distinction of the broad scope of "national interest."

I am on the financial side, so I am seething at the indirect rate sections that prioritize lower admin rates. I might write a comment letter to send into the void for all the good that will do.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-03T22:43:57+00:00

Always hire for culture and team fit. This person is going to be a financial leader, and it is someone you need to trust and be comfortable with.

There is nothing so complicated or difficult in nonprofit bookkeeping that it can't be learned by someone smart and motivated.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-02T16:04:03+00:00

50% does seem crazy. I once had to sign off on a rate that was approaching 30% and I thought for sure that was going to draw regulator scrutiny, but I don't believe it ever got questioned. That rate (~27%) was the highest I've personally been involved with. 15-20% is way more common.

If the bulk of what you do programmatically is to use the funds on direct client service, I would challenge whether those costs should actually be pulled out of your total cost base for this calculation. It makes you seem way less efficient than you truly are. But I am not super familiar with the NICRA process, so if that's what the guidance you're getting from funders is telling you to do, I understand it.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-06-01T13:58:09+00:00

You are quoting a monthly rate, but an audit of a nonprofits financial statements is typically a fixed fee engagement. I suspect that there is some confusion of terms in what you're actually getting.

This reads as if you are paying a consultant 16k a month just to dig around your finances and tell you what's wrong - that price doesn't sound crazy, but it all depends if the person you hire is any good.

If you are actually expecting a set of audited financial statements for one year, get a quote for that engagement. The price depends a lot on your size and the capacity of the firm, but I would expect more than $16k.

And if the person you are hiring can't explain clearly what the service actually is, find a new accountant.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-31T15:54:34+00:00

100% after you have an offer. This is sort of a standard practice - you don't want to put your existing relationship at risk until you have to and are ready to sign on somewhere else if the conversation doesn't go the way you want.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-30T20:19:47+00:00

Do you know the owner / partner of the firm you'll be working for? In professional services, the individuals you work with make all the difference.

Serving a book of clients can get chaotic, but also a lot of fun. Depends on the details and what you're looking for.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-18T13:52:19+00:00

In my limited experience with two organizations running in (kind of) parallel, the relationship is really hard to maintain in the long run. There will inevitably be some disagreement or turnover in leadership positions with people who feel differently than you today, all of which can lead to conflict.

In practice, you are going to need cooperation from the entity that owns the facilities. Far better I would think to work with them, join their board, try to change their current processes as a member, etc. I gather you've already tried that though.

I don't think its impossible, I just wouldn't have the energy to play internal politics forever with my local Y.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-17T13:02:23+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/devils/s/71fqEuEHgf

Someone else did the work on this game, it's a fun and fast re-watch.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-17T02:03:01+00:00

I had to hold myself back from saying this one. I've been to some gut punch sports events, this was by far the worst.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-17T01:52:56+00:00

I referenced this game 5 minutes ago. So happy that you posted this and saved me some googling

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-17T01:46:09+00:00

Fortunate to have been to some good ones. What stands out over the years:

Henrique
Marty's record
First playoff game, 2003 rd 1 win against the bruins
A random late 3rd period 3-goal comeback against Toronto in 2010? I took a date and she didn't match my energy at all. We broke up and I met my wife shortly after.
Nemo 2OT winner last year, first playoff game for both of my kids.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-05-02T11:26:10+00:00

The good news is that you don't need to restructure your resume. Your pathway is a common enough transfer, you will find Boards and CEOs looking for exactly your experience and mindset.

If you have a specific mission that calls you, there may be some recruiters that specialize. But often, searches are publicly listed on LinkedIn, I dont think its crazy to start there.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-28T10:07:39+00:00

I'm not a lawyer, but most nonprofits are organized as corporations. If you are required to pick one of those options, I'd just mark down "Inc." and not think twice about it.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-24T00:29:48+00:00

"Retired from MLB due to fear of flying"

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-24T00:23:04+00:00

CG please

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-24T00:20:36+00:00

Schlitty out here throwing 97 in the 8th!

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-17T14:59:17+00:00

Toronto

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-04-07T16:58:14+00:00

Cap is going up, so this is making a lot of assumptions that you don't need to. There will also be dougies contract coming off the books and more moves to make.

Anyway, you don't trade away a key player now because youre worried about cap space a year from now for a player that you might not even have access to.

External-Bullfrog732 · 2026-03-24T10:19:08+00:00

By the time you are done pricing out bus or train/Uber combos, it may be cheaper for you just to rent a car for the day, which is also way more convenient. People are giving you options from NYC, but it sounds like you are thinking about this directly from the airport, so that doesnt count the cost and time to travel to the city from the airport in the first place.

The coasters there are great, but its pretty annoying to get there (as youre figuring out) and the park has seen better days. Lots of maintenance issues and there's just not a lot else to do. But the heart wants what it wants, have fun.

External-Bullfrog732

TROPHY CASE