TALA Workshop: Demystifying Audits for Nonprofit Organizations

Part two of a three part financial series for nonprofits.

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Are you confused about nonprofit audits? Does your nonprofit need one and when? What’s going to happen once an auditor is engaged? Will an audit help you raise funds? What can you expect to learn from an audit? How do you find an affordable CPA for the audit process?

Join TALA as we ask these questions and more about nonprofit audits. There’s a lot of talk about audits and the advantages and disadvantages of paying for one. We’ve assembled a group of 5 (yes 5!) CPA’s to offer advice and sort it all out.

If you’ve ever wondered about the audit process, this panel discussion is for you.

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Meet the speakers:

Alyson N. Brands, CPA, MBA, Senior Manager, HM&M

Alyson began as an intern with HM&M in 2011 while studying for her Bachelors of Science in Accounting and Information Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and went on to complete her masters in December 2012 and pass her CPA exam before joining the team full time in January 2013. Alyson completed her MBA in December 2015 from UT Dallas. She was promoted to Senior Manager in July 2021. Alyson has experience serving a variety of industries including employee benefit plans, real estate, oil & gas, manufacturing, and healthcare. Outside the office, Alyson has a thirst for international travel and enjoys water skiing at lake Cypress Springs.

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Sarah E. Loghin, CPA, CMA®, CFE, Senior Managing Consultant, Nonprofit Advisory Services, Forvis LLP

Sarah joined Nonprofit Advisory Services in 2019. As the market champion for the Austin/San Antonio region, she provides a variety of advisory services to nonprofit entities and assists higher education institutions across the nation with implementation of FORVIS Financial Scenario Modeling tool.

Her career experience has centered on nonprofit entities, serving in various accounting and finance roles in institutions of higher education and religious organizations. Sarah has additional experience providing audit services for a variety of nonprofit entities, and is skilled in conducting finance operational assessments, designing charts of accounts and internal control structures, and developing policies and procedures.

Sarah is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Institute of Management Accountants, Inc. (IMA), and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc. (ACFE®). She holds the Certified Management Accountant® (CMA®) certification from IMA and the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential from ACFE. She serves her community through active membership in the Austin Chapter of TXCPA and Social Venture Partners Austin.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Schreiner University, Kerrville, Texas, with a B.B.A. degree in accounting.

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Diana Garcia Mil, CPA, Audit Partner, Maxwell Locke & Ritter

Diana joined Maxwell Locke & Ritter in 2006 and focuses on providing value added audit and consulting services to nonprofit organizations, real estate investment funds, and employee benefit plans. In her leadership role as partner, she enjoys helping her team and clients achieve their goals. “I am proud to work for a public accounting firm that values its clients, its people and the Central Texas community,” says Diana. “I truly enjoy staying connected with my clients throughout the year, serving as their trusted business advisor when issues arise.”

In addition, Diana leads the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, which is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels of the firm. She currently serves on the board of Mission Capital, an organization working to advance race equity and opportunity in the Central Texas nonprofit sector through leadership development, trainings, and strategic consulting.

Diana began her career with Ernst & Young LLP in the Austin office after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin. Diana served public and privately-held companies in various industries including technology, venture capital, and employee benefit plans. She went on to join SigmaTel, managing and supervising an accounting team as well as assisting with public filings with the SEC.

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Sharon Price, DBA, CPA, Owner, NFP Advisory Services.

Sharon Price is a Texas CPA who primarily is in the business of accounting education. She holds a doctorate in business administration from Anderson University and a master’s degree in management from Indiana Wesleyan University. She holds a full-time faculty position with Amberton University in Garland, Texas. While teaching is her passion, she continues to assist small not for profit organizations with accounting needs through her small niche CPA firm. Being passionate about serving others aligned with skills developed while working for both small and large not for profit organizations, made it quite clear that focusing in this area was the path to take. Sharon also has been an audit director at a CPA firm. The combination of teaching skills and practical accounting skills give Sharon a communication edge when helping others.

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Moderator: Lisa Sretenovic, CPA/CITP/CGMA

Lisa is a business coach competent in accounting, finance, and management. She is also skilled in strategic planning/budgeting, analysis, process improvement, and training. As a result of her work in varied industries (public accounting/tax, professional practices, real estate investment, SaaS, telecommunications, manufacturing, hospitality, music production, and oil & gas), she possesses experience that is broad and allows knowledge application from one area to others. One of her strongest abilities is to communicate complex financial information in a language appropriate for the audience, from the board of directors to the IT department or the director’s assistant to the small business owner. Her specialties include financial consulting for small & start-up companies focusing on the business owner’s financial literacy and how that improves business growth. Lisa provides services to TALA member artists and arts organizations and is a past TALA board member.

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This project is generously funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Texas Commission on the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit arts.gov.