Financial Maintenance services

System

Various

What ArtsPool staff does

We do not manage your internal controls or make financial or cash flow decisions on your behalf, but we will support you in accessing the tools with which we manage your financial data so that you are able to interpret it and leverage it for strategic decision making. We maintain policy templates and have resources of good practices, and if you have a question about your fiscal controls policy we'll try to help you answer it and recommend further expertise as needed.

What member staff does

You keep responsibility for all financial decision making, as well as the adoption and enforcement of internal fiscal controls. We require approvals from an authorized signatory on all bill payments, payrolls, and reimbursements, but other transactions requiring approval -- e.g. receivable invoices, etc -- should be flagged for approval at the time of submission.

System

Xero

What ArtsPool staff does

We set up and maintain your chart of accounts in Xero, a web-based accounting system. During onboarding, your chart of accounts will be converted to the standard chart of accounts that we use for all members. Your specific chart of accounts will use a subset of this standard chart of accounts that meets your management needs and aligns with various reporting requirements.

To ensure standardization and efficiency, we cannot change the standard chart of accounts based on one-off requests from members. However, when a common need is identified across the entire membership, we will occasionally change it in consultation with our governance committees made up of member and ArtsPool staff.

What member staff does

You will have the opportunity to approve our initial setup of your chart of accounts at onboarding, but you should be sure to let us know of any tracking needs that change over time. We understand that certain unique tracking structures are sometimes required, but together we operate with the understanding that consistency keeps costs down.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

We keep your balance sheet and other reports up-to-date in Xero. Additionally, we’ll provide key reports as part of monthly and quarterly packages. Certain balance sheet schedules that are reviewed as part of the annual audit will be maintained on an ongoing basis in spreadsheets.

Our standard templates provide clear and easily legible data that is useful to a variety of stakeholders. We do not provide bespoke reports or reformat data for view preferences, but we can point you to resources for creating your own.

What member staff does

You can view your balance sheet and other reports at any time in Xero. Sharing current budget details on a regular basis allows us to keep the budget reports we provide monthly and quarterly up-to-date and accurate. If you need bespoke report formats beyond our standard reports, we can point you to resources to help you create those reports directly in Xero or in Google Sheets.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

We allocate revenue and expense with each transaction entry according to budget and coding you provide through the ArtsPool app.

What member staff does

Your prompt responses to requests for coding ensure a timely monthly and annual books close that in turn provides you with the most accurate data for decision making. Requests generally decrease over time as we become familiar with your programs and activity.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

We convert your budgets to Google Sheets and maintain them in Google Drive where you can easily access them. On a monthly basis, we will gather input from appointed staff, compare your transactional activity to your budget, review any discrepancies, and update the budget documents accordingly. To maintain fidelity of the data in these documents, we grant you comment-only access to these documents and make all changes ourselves in consultation with your staff.

We will also prepare long-range budget planning (with your input) in the context of a grant request that requires it, but not otherwise. We can provide a pro-forma template tool that you can use for this type of long-range planning if needed.

We help you develop grant budgets that make sense within the context of your historical, working, and projected budgets. We will not present unrealistic projections as a strategy for fundraising (or for any other purpose), nor do we prepare or populate speculative materials with prospective numbers outside of our normal budget planning or grants process.

What member staff does

We will not make any changes to your budget without your input, so you should communicate any expected (or unexpected) budget or spending changes to us on a regular basis. You have access to the same transactional and budgetary data that we do, and we rely on you to review the monthly budget and transaction reports that we provide for any items requiring adjustment. If pricing research is required, that is your responsibility, though we will share information on pricing from prior research or other members if we have it.

You prepare your own long-range budgets if these budgets are not a requirement of specific grant applications, as well as any speculative materials with prospective numbers you might want for scenario planning.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

We provide designated staff with a monthly budget update for comment through Google Sheets/Google Drive. Generally, we utilize the following spreadsheets as part of ongoing review and update:

• Operating budget/actual/forecast with prior year comparison
• Capital activities budget/actual/forecast
• Program budget detail
• Contributed income detail
• Payroll and benefits detail and allocation.

We can add reporting of actuals against budget on the Activity level if requested.

What member staff does

You designate the staff who will participate in the budget process, and those staff must review materials in a timely manner in order for our work on your behalf to be up-to-date and accurate.

System

Xero, Google Sheets

What ArtsPool staff does

We will provide the financial data for all grant applications and reports. We will work with your staff or consultants' annual grant calendar to prepare necessary financial and workforce data, however we do not enter the application data directly into grant application/reporting portals or submit the application or report on your behalf.

We do not break out grant budgets in higher detail than what is reflected in the Chart of Accounts. Following the first year of service, which is a transition period, we do not prepare reports for grants for which we did not prepare the application.

What member staff does

You must inform us about upcoming grant application/report deadlines for which financial reports are needed; we generally ask for two weeks notice for these types of requests. You are responsible for creating any and all narrative materials, coordinating with us to prepare financial reports, and entering financial data prepared by us into the relevant grant application/reporting portal.

If you prepared the financial materials for the grant application without support from ArtsPool, you are also responsible for completing the financial portion of the interim or final report for the grant.

System

PDF

What ArtsPool staff does

We can prepare reports for your board of directors upon request as submitted to the app. We will work with you to establish a report package that works for your organization using our standard templates. Normally, we expect that board reports will include:

• Notes on financials and forecast
• Operating budget
• Capital activities
• Program budget detail
• Contributed income detail
• Cash flow projection
• Balance sheet.

While we do not lead financial presentations to your Board members or other stakeholders, we will help you confidently report on your data and we can participate in Finance Committee meetings at your request.

What member staff does

You should submit requests for reports to the app, review them, and inform us of any required adjustments. You should also be prepared to lead any financial presentations to your Board members or other stakeholders at meetings.

System

PDF

What ArtsPool staff does

If you produce an annual report for your organization, we can provide relevant financial reports to be included.

What member staff does

You must alert us if you would like us to prepare a financial report for your annual report.

System

Xero, ArtsPool app, Google Drive

What ArtsPool staff does

We gather and prepare all of the materials requested by your auditor and/or tax preparer in connection with your annual audit/accountant’s review, IRS 990, and NY State CHAR500 filing, including collecting Conflict of Interest Disclosures from your Board. This process will require more involvement from you in the first year of service. In subsequent years, review of the materials we prepare before they are sent to the auditor/tax preparer is likely all that will be required. These materials are collected in Google Drive, to which you have access.

For audits of periods that predate your membership in ArtsPool, we will prepare data to the extent that it can be gleaned from your converted books. If your legacy data is in an outdated system that you cannot access, we can facilitate access if this is set up during onboarding.

We do not generate confirmation letters for audit, but we will provide data for the letters to the auditor.

After the first full year of service, we do not compile any backup materials for audit from legacy systems nor do we participate in on-site audits, but we can provide data from our current systems as needed.

What member staff does

In your first year as an ArtsPool member, you are responsible for coordinating your audit/accountant’s review, IRS 990, and NY State CHAR500 filing with your auditor. ArtsPool may be able to provide some assistance, but we do not participate in a substantive role. Thereafter, ArtsPool will work directly with your auditor to prepare your audit materials and tax/regulatory filings, requesting information from you as needed, and handing off to you at the final stage for approvals.