Industries

Local Government

Counties, municipalities and special districts in the State of Florida are governed by a myriad of State Statutes and the rules of the various governing agencies of the State. In addition to the legislative compliance requirements, local government organizations are under constant scrutiny not only to be accountable and transparent, but to ensure contribution to the public good. In an environment of falling revenues, tightening budgets, increasing oversight, public scrutiny and the ever increasing complexity of account accounting standards and compliance requirements, it is important that local governments have a highly qualified consultant/auditor to provide the proper technical guidance or to provide high quality auditing services in compliance with auditing standards as  required by the AICPA, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Auditor General of the State of Florida. We have dedicated much of our time to the local government sector and as a result we are specialists in local government accounting, auditing and compliance and our team members have been providing these services to local government organizations in Florida since 2002. Due to the breadth of our knowledge and experience, the scope of services that we can provide is virtually endless and includes:

 Local Government Links

• GFOA: The purpose of the Government Finance Officers Association is to enhance and promote the professional management of governments for the public benefit by identifying and developing financial policies and best practices and promoting their use through education, training, facilitation of member networking, and leadership. http://www.gfoa.org/

• FGFOA: The Florida Government Finance Officers Association (FGFOA) was founded in 1937 and serves more than 2,800 professionals from state, county and city governments, school districts, colleges and universities, special districts, and private firms. The FGFOA is dedicated to being your professional resource by providing opportunities through Education, Networking, Leadership and Information. http://www.fgfoa.org/

• GASB: The GASBs missing is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports. The mission is accomplished through a comprehensive and independent process that encourages broad participation, objectively considers all stakeholder views, and is subject to oversight by the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees http://www.gasb.org/

• GAO Yellow Book: The Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards, also known as the Yellow Book, provide a framework for conducting high quality audits with competence, integrity, objectivity, and independence. The Yellow Book is for use by auditors of government entities, entities that receive government awards, and other audit organizations performing Yellow Book audits. http://www.gao.gov/yellowbook/overview

• Florida Statutes: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/

• State of Florida Auditor General: As the State’s independent auditor, the Auditor General’s mission is to provide unbiased, timely, and relevant information which can be used by the Legislature, Florida’s citizens, public entity management, and other stakeholders to promote government accountability and stewardship and improve government operations http://www.myflorida.com/audgen/

• Florida Department of State – Division of Library & Information Services: Document/Records Retention Guidelines. http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/

 

Non-profit

The nonprofit/tax-exempt sector is undergoing increased tax scrutiny in addition to increased competition for resources requiring nonprofit organizations to have a properly designed and accurate financial reporting structure. It is critical that nonprofit organizations build a strong financial structure to provide assurance that their resources are being used to achieve their mission, to provide evidence of compliance with the various State and Federal requirements and to provide credibility that the organization is properly tracking and accounting for the funds they receive for each specific program. Services we can provide include:

 

 Non-Profit Links

• GuideStar – GuideStar’s mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. http://www.guidestar.org/
• Financial Accounting Standards Boards – The mission of FASB is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. http://www.fasb.org/home
• Internal Revenue Service Charities and Non-Profits Center http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits
• Florida Statutes Section 617 – “Florida Not For Profit Corporation Act”). Click Here

• Florida Statutes: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/
• AICPA Not-for-Profit Resource Center: Florida Statutes – Resources for members in not-for-profit organizations. Click Here

Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools of choice. They are very popular—and among the fastest growing school choice options in Florida. Charter schools are largely free to innovate, and often provide more effective programs and choice to diverse groups of students. Charter schools are a subset of the county school district and charter school funding passes through the school district. Charter schools in the State of Florida are governed by a myriad of State Statutes and the rules of the various governing agencies of the State. In addition to the legislative compliance requirements, local charter schools are under constant scrutiny not only to be accountable and transparent, but to meet high standards of student achievement while providing parents flexibility to choose among diverse educational opportunities within the state’s public school system

In an environment of falling revenues, tightening budgets, increasing oversight, public scrutiny and the ever increasing complexity of account accounting standards and compliance requirements, it is important that charter schools have a highly qualified consultant/auditor to provide the proper technical guidance or to provide high quality auditing services in compliance with auditing standards as  required by the AICPA, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Auditor General of the State of Florida. We have dedicated much of our time to the local government sector, including charter schools, and as a result we are specialists in local government accounting, auditing and compliance. Due to the breadth of our knowledge and experience, the scope of services that we can provide is virtually endless and includes:

 Charter School Links:

• Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools – The Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is the state’s primary membership association of public charter schools. Established in 1999 as a non-profit organization by a grassroots group of charter school operators, it provides advocacy, support, resources, and networking opportunities to new and existing charter schools, parents and students. http://floridacharterschools.org/about/
• Florida Department of Education – Florida School Choice http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/charter_schools/
• Florida Department of Education – Charter School Capital Outlay – Current http://www.fldoe.org/edfacil/oef/chartsub.asp
• Florida Charter School Alliance – the Florida Charter School Alliance was formed to ensure that every family in the state has access to the high-quality public school of their choice. http://www.flcharteralliance.org/AboutTheAlliance/
• Florida Charter School Statutes – The first Florida charter school statutes were approved in 1996, opening the door for the creation of charter schools as part of the state’s public education system. Since that year, the statutes have been amended several times.
  • Section 1002.33 – General Statutes http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/1002.33
  • Section 1013.62 – Capital Outlay Funding Statutes http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/1013.62

Common Interest Realty Associations (CIRAs)

CIRAs (also referred to as community associations, common interest communities, and common interest developments), are associations that are established to, among other duties, manage the common property of condominiums, cooperatives, homeowners’ associations and other planned communities. CIRAs are also established to manage the property interests of the owners, to provide services for the owners and to provide social activities and amenities that help develop a sense of community.

According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Common Interest Realty Association Wiki, “CIRAs, the original concept of which was borrowed in part from Europe, have developed over the past 160 years and now have evolved into a concept unique to the United States of America. Many of the services that CIRAs may provide, for example, trash collection, snow removal, street paving, and lighting, were historically provided by local governments. The privatization of these services evolved as the demand for housing exceeded the ability of many local governments to expand services to meet the demand.”

 Employee Benefit Plans:

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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

 Example Links:

• Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools – The Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is the state’s primary membership association of public charter schools. Established in 1999 as a non-profit organization by a grassroots group of charter school operators, it provides advocacy, support, resources, and networking opportunities to new and existing charter schools, parents and students. http://floridacharterschools.org/about/
• Florida Department of Education – Florida School Choice http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/charter_schools/
• Florida Charter School Alliance – the Florida Charter School Alliance was formed to ensure that every family in the state has access to the high-quality public school of their choice. http://www.flcharteralliance.org/AboutTheAlliance/
• Florida Charter School Statutes – The first Florida charter school statutes were approved in 1996, opening the door for the creation of charter schools as part of the state’s public education system. Since that year, the statutes have been amended several times.

Construction and Engineering Contractors:

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of Lorem Ipsum.

 Example Links:

• Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools – The Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is the state’s primary membership association of public charter schools. Established in 1999 as a non-profit organization by a grassroots group of charter school operators, it provides advocacy, support, resources, and networking opportunities to new and existing charter schools, parents and students. http://floridacharterschools.org/about/
• Florida Department of Education – Florida School Choice http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/charter_schools/
• Florida Charter School Alliance – the Florida Charter School Alliance was formed to ensure that every family in the state has access to the high-quality public school of their choice. http://www.flcharteralliance.org/AboutTheAlliance/
• Florida Charter School Statutes – The first Florida charter school statutes were approved in 1996, opening the door for the creation of charter schools as part of the state’s public education system. Since that year, the statutes have been amended several times.