Accutrak Consulting and Accounting Services

Accutrak Consulting and Accounting Services Accutrak is a certified SBA 8(a), WOSB CPA Firm. Our team of professionals and CPAs, offer comprehen

Business Advisors and Certified Public Accountant offering:
Consulting Services
QuickBooks Services
Bookkeeping Services
Accounting Services
Part-Time CFO Services
Payroll Services
Income Tax Preparation
Sales Tax Preparation
Payroll Tax Preparation
Tax Planning
Financial Statement Compilation
New Business Formation
Financial Analysis
Job and Product Costing
Notary Services

We’re hiring a **full-time, remote Virtual Executive Office Manager** to help keep our firm, clients, and projects runni...
05/21/2026

We’re hiring a **full-time, remote Virtual Executive Office Manager** to help keep our firm, clients, and projects running smoothly.

If you’re an experienced virtual assistant or executive assistant who loves:
- Managing inboxes and calendars for busy executives
- Keeping clients organized and well-communicated with
- Working in cloud tools like CRMs, social media platforms, and practice management systems
- Handling a mix of recurring tasks and special projects

…then I’d love to talk with you.

The full job description is posted in the comments.

To be considered, **please send me a direct message with your email address and a copy of your resume.**

If you know someone who would be a great fit, feel free to share or tag them.

Every Nonprofit Needs a Written Gift Acceptance Policy. Does Yours Have One? 📋 If your organization accepts non-cash con...
05/14/2026

Every Nonprofit Needs a Written Gift Acceptance Policy. Does Yours Have One? 📋

If your organization accepts non-cash contributions without a written Gift Acceptance Policy, you are operating without a safety net. As a CPA who advises nonprofits, this is one of the first documents I ask to see — and one of the most valuable ones I help clients create.

A Gift Acceptance Policy tells your staff, your board, and your donors exactly what you will accept, how you will value it, and how you will acknowledge it. The professional standards recommend formalizing this in writing, and your auditors will ask for.

Here is what a strong policy covers:

✅ Which asset types your organization will and will not accept — you are not obligated to accept everything, and some gifts cost more to administer than they're worth
✅ Valuation standards by asset category, including when a third-party appraisal is required
✅ Donor restriction guidelines and how restricted gifts are tracked and reported
✅ Acknowledgment procedures, including the firm rule: your organization never assigns dollar value to non-cash gifts in an acknowledgment letter
✅ Form 8282 filing obligations — who is responsible for tracking the 3-year disposition window on donated property
✅ How donated services are handled — contribution recognized under GAAP, special reporting on Form 990, and never acknowledged as a formal charitable contribution

A well-written Gift Acceptance Policy protects your donors, your staff, your auditors, and your tax-exempt status. It also makes my job — and your board's job — significantly easier at audit time.

💬 Does your nonprofit have a current, written Gift Acceptance Policy? If you're not sure, or if yours hasn't been updated, reach out. This is exactly what I help nonprofit clients with at Accutrak Services.

IRS Red Flags — Is Your Nonprofit Already on the Radar? 🚩 The IRS uses Schedule M on Form 990 specifically to cross-ref...
05/12/2026

IRS Red Flags — Is Your Nonprofit Already on the Radar? 🚩

The IRS uses Schedule M on Form 990 specifically to cross-reference the deductions your donors are claiming on their personal returns. As your CPA, my job is to make sure your records can withstand that scrutiny. Here are the red flags I watch for most closely.

🚩 Inflated asset valuations — Artwork, real estate, vehicles, and intellectual property are the highest-risk categories. If a donor claims a $2,000 deduction and your FMV documentation supports $50, someone will get a letter — and it may be both of you.

🚩 Failure to file Form 8282 — If your nonprofit sells donated non-cash property (FMV of $5,000 or more) within 3 years of receipt, you must file Form 8282 with the IRS and notify the donor within 125 days of the sale. Missing this deadline carries penalties and puts you on the IRS's radar.

🚩 Misunderstanding Form 8283 — Your organization only completes Part V, which acknowledges receipt of the property. Signing it does not mean you agree with the donor's stated FMV — make sure the person signing this at your organization understands that distinction.

🚩 Earmarked contributions and public support laundering — Using a middleman charity to channel restricted gifts to the ultimate recipient — to make contributions appear to come from a broader base — is on the IRS's list of abusive arrangements and can jeopardize your public charity status.

🚩 Schedule M that doesn't tie to 990 — This is a basic math check the IRS runs. If it doesn't match, expect follow-up.

The organizations that stay off the IRS radar treat gifts-in-kind compliance with the same rigor they apply to payroll. Written policies. Consistent application. Annual review. If your nonprofit doesn't have that infrastructure yet, let's build it.

This week, we celebrate National Small Business Week (May 3-9) — a time to recognize the backbone of our economy and the...
05/07/2026

This week, we celebrate National Small Business Week (May 3-9) — a time to recognize the backbone of our economy and the entrepreneurs who drive innovation and create jobs in our communities.

As a small CPA firm, Accutrak Consulting and Accounting Services is proud to serve small businesses. But we couldn't do it effectively without the support of organizations like the AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS).

The PCPS actively solicits feedback from firms like ours through their annual Top Issues Survey, then tailors resources, training, and advocacy to address the real challenges we face in serving our clients. This collaborative approach ensures that small business owners get the expert guidance they need to thrive.

To all the small business owners out there: thank you for your resilience, creativity, and commitment. And to our fellow small firm CPAs: let's continue supporting one another so we can better serve the businesses that make our communities stronger.

🔗 Share your thoughts: https://zurl.co/qRkrB

Your Acknowledgment Letter Could Be Getting Your Donors in Trouble ⚠️ This is one of the most important compliance point...
05/07/2026

Your Acknowledgment Letter Could Be Getting Your Donors in Trouble ⚠️

This is one of the most important compliance points I share with every nonprofit client I work with — and it's consistently one of the most misunderstood.

When a donor gives your organization non-cash property, your job is to describe the gift — not to value it. Valuation is the donor's responsibility, and the IRS is very clear on this.

✅ Your charitable contribution acknowledgment MUST include:

— Your organization's name and EIN

— The date the gift was received

— A detailed description of the donated property (not just "furniture" — say "six oak conference room chairs, model XYZ, received in good condition")

—A statement that no goods or services were provided in exchange — or the fair value of what was provided if there was an exchange

❌ Your acknowledgment must NEVER include:

— A dollar value for donated non-cash items — this is the donor's job, not yours

— Any value for donated services or donated facilities — issue a thank-you letter instead, and make sure it does NOT look like a formal charitable contribution acknowledgment

— Why this matters so much: If your organization assigns inflated values in acknowledgment letters, the IRS can take the position that you are participating in a tax scheme — which puts your 501(c)(3) status at risk.

📋 Action item for your organization: Pull your last five acknowledgment letters right now. Do any of them include dollar values for non-cash gifts? If so, call me.

Valuation Isn't Guesswork — Here's What Your Nonprofit Should Be Using 📊 As a CPA who works with nonprofits, one of the...
05/05/2026

Valuation Isn't Guesswork — Here's What Your Nonprofit Should Be Using 📊

As a CPA who works with nonprofits, one of the most common audit findings I see is improperly valued — or completely unrecorded — gifts-in-kind. "We couldn't measure it" is not an acceptable accounting policy. A good-faith estimate is always required.

Under GAAP, non-cash contributions must be measured at fair value. Here is what your organization should be using by asset type:

🏡 Land & Buildings → Qualified independent appraisal

🚗 Vehicles → Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or eBay Motors completed sales

👗 Clothing & Household Items → Salvation Army Donation Guide or TurboTax ItsDeductible

🍎 Food → USDA data products; Feeding America Annual Product Valuation Study

💊 Pharmaceuticals → InterAction Catalog; GoodRx and retail pharmacy prices are not appropriate — those are retail, not wholesale

🎁 Auction Items → Value at the winning bid price when the auction occurs; if unsold at year-end, value independently at FMV

🎫 Gift Cards → Treated like cash

⚠️ My advice to every nonprofit client: Screenshot or print your valuation source at the time you record the gift. Online prices change and links disappear. You need documentation that will hold up under audit or IRS review.

Not sure if your current valuation methods are defensible? That's exactly the kind of review I offer nonprofit clients. Let's talk.

📣 Attention nonprofit leaders — as your CPA, one of the most important conversations I have with clients is about how gi...
04/30/2026

📣 Attention nonprofit leaders — as your CPA, one of the most important conversations I have with clients is about how gifts-in-kind are treated differently under GAAP versus tax. Here's what your finance team needs to know.

Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) your organization must recognize most non-cash contributions as revenue, measured at fair market value — including donated professional services (legal, CPA, marketing) if a specialized skill is involved that you would otherwise pay for. These must appear on your Statement of Activities as a separate line item for "Contributed Nonfinancial Assets" — they cannot be buried inside general contributions.

For tax purposes (Form 990), the rules are different. Donated services and donated facilities are NOT reported as contributions revenue on Form 990. They become reconciling items reported on your tax return — which means your financial reports and your 990 will look different, and that is by design.

Here's a real example I see often: An attorney volunteers services for your organization. Under GAAP, you record that at the market rate for legal services. On the Form 990 - It doesn't hit revenue at all. Two sets of rules, one transaction — and both need to be handled correctly.

✅ What your nonprofit should do: Make sure your finance staff and board understand that the GAAP-to-tax difference on gifts-in-kind is intentional and must be documented with a clear reconciliation. If your team can't explain the difference, that's a gap I can help you close.

Does your board understand why your audited financials and your 990 don't always match? This is one of the most common questions I get. Drop a comment or DM me.📥

If you work in or with a nonprofit organization, this series is for you. 👇In my practice at Accutrak Consulting and Acco...
04/28/2026

If you work in or with a nonprofit organization, this series is for you. 👇
In my practice at Accutrak Consulting and Accounting Services I work closely with nonprofit organizations — preparing Form 990s, providing accounting services, and supporting audit engagements. And across all of that work, one topic comes up again and again with real confusion and surprisingly little clear guidance: gifts-in-kind.

Here's what I'm seeing on the ground right now:
Traditional donor and grantor funding is becoming increasingly competitive and constrained. As a result, nonprofits are turning to alternative revenue sources to keep their missions funded — fundraisers, auctions, raffles, donated goods, contributed services, and more. That's a smart and necessary pivot. But it comes with accounting, tax, and compliance responsibilities that many organizations are simply not prepared for.

I've seen nonprofits:
• Record gifts-in-kind incorrectly (or not at all)
• Issue donor acknowledgment letters that create serious IRS exposure
• Miss required filings like Form 8282 and Form 8283
• Treat GAAP and Form 990 as interchangeable — they are not
• Operate without a written Gift Acceptance Policy

None of this happens because organizations don't care. It happens because the rules are genuinely complex, the GAAP-to-tax differences are significant, and the guidance isn't always easy to find or apply.

So over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a series of posts designed to help nonprofit leaders, finance staff, and board members navigate gifts-in-kind with confidence. We'll cover:
📌 GAAP vs. tax differences — and why your financials and your 990 are supposed to look different
📌 How to properly value non-cash contributions by asset type
📌 What your donor acknowledgment letters must — and must never — include
📌 IRS red flags that put nonprofits at risk
📌 Why every nonprofit needs a written Gift Acceptance Policy

My goal is simple: help the organizations doing good work in our communities stay compliant, audit-ready, and protected.
If you work with or lead a nonprofit, follow along and feel free to share with your team. And if any of these topics hit close to home for your organization, my DMs are open.
Let's get started. 🚀

2026 is proving to be a complicated year for not-for-profit organizations.I’ve been hearing from many nonprofit leaders ...
04/16/2026

2026 is proving to be a complicated year for not-for-profit organizations.

I’ve been hearing from many nonprofit leaders who are feeling the strain — unpredictable funding, federal grant disruptions, compliance pressures, workforce challenges, and just keeping up with the cost of doing good work. Ugo’s recent overview really hit home: the environment is shifting fast, and the pace of change can feel relentless.

In times like these, a structured risk-based approach isn’t just “nice to have” — it’s essential. Strong governance, financial visibility, liquidity monitoring, and forecasting can make all the difference between operating in crisis mode and leading with confidence.

That’s exactly where my firm loves to step in. At Accutrak Consulting and Accounting Services we partner with not-for-profit organizations to:

Strengthen financial systems and oversight

Streamline grant compliance and audit preparedness

Build practical forecasting and liquidity tools

Support boards and leaders with clear, data-driven insights

As both an advisor and a small business owner, I understand how challenging it is to balance mission with day-to-day realities. My goal is to help nonprofits focus on impact — with the peace of mind that their financial foundation is solid.

If any of this resonates, I’d love to connect and chat about how we can support your organization as you plan for the rest of 2026 and beyond.

The space between analysis and action is where strategy succeeds—or fails.I often notice a disconnect between the time i...
03/31/2026

The space between analysis and action is where strategy succeeds—or fails.

I often notice a disconnect between the time it takes to make a decision and the time needed to properly evaluate the data before making that decision. In today’s fast-paced environment, there’s a push to move quickly—but speed isn’t always synonymous with effectiveness.

While I don’t believe in analysis paralysis, I do believe that when a plan is well thought out, adequate time must be devoted to gathering, evaluating, and understanding the data that informs it. Rushing through that step can lead to short-sighted decisions that don’t serve all stakeholders.

Once a plan is made, stay the course—unless circumstances materially change. That consistency builds trust, ensures accountability, and gives strategies the time they need to produce results.

Leaders and consultants alike: How do you balance urgency with thoughtful evaluation in your decision-making process?

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St. Clair Shores, MI
48051

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(586) 840-6494

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