Arts & Cultural CPA and Consulting

Arts and cultural organizations face many challenges with financial sustainability. The variable costs, changes in financial funding, and unpredictable demand are just a few of the obstacles you face on a daily basis.

AAFCPAs provides audit, tax, and consulting services to community, national, and international nonprofit clients, including arts and cultural organizations. We understand the nuances of your industry, revenue streams, grant requirements, regulations, and the areas of risk you have and how to best mitigate them. We help you streamline your financial operations to ensure you are maximizing your resources.

Primary Reasons Arts & Cultural Clients Appreciate AAFCPAs

• We have extensive experience advising organizations with admissions and box offices with a focus on internal controls.
• We have experience with museum store controls and food service businesses.
• We support strong governance by administering Board trainings on various topics.
• We have an integrated Information Technology and Business Advisory practice that supports clients with IT & Cyber risk assessments, IT security reviews, business process & internal control improvement, and systems conversions and integration.
• We are active members of the nonprofit community and are fully aware of new standards or changes well in advance of their implementation and advise our clients on their impact to business.
• We understand the challenges related to earned and contributed revenue streams.
• Our unique approach to client service delivers much more than the required compliance. Our team serves as a trusted advisor and provides sound financial management advice and winning best practice recommendations that will help your organization thrive.
• We are considered an exceptional value by delivering the ideal combination of expertise, service, and price.

In addition to best-value assurance and exceptional tax expertise, AAFCPAs provides proactive guidance on areas critical to the success of arts and cultural organizations, including:

• Business processes and internal control best practices for admissions, ticketing systems, programs, shops & dining venues, parking/garage revenue, and other earned revenue streams
• Risk assessments
• Evaluating facility financing options – including expertise in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC)
• Industry benchmarking and flash reports
• Advising clients embarking on capital campaigns
• Financial training for Boards, management, and personnel
• Examine financial and personnel resource allocations
• Accounting for endowments, including developing and evaluating investment and spending policies, designing reporting structures, and evaluating and improving internal controls over investment activities in line with the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA)
• Managed Accounting Solutions: Right-sized, outsourced accounting solutions, from cloud-based accounting to high level CFO oversight
• Business Performance, Internal Controls & IT Advisory
• Institutional investment advice, money management, financial planning & consulting, executive deferred compensation & retirement plan consulting, and succession planning solutions
• Fiduciary guidance and investment advisory solutions for employee benefit plan sponsors
• Technical Accounting Advisory: Implementation of new accounting standards, assistance with complex operational and financial transactions, audit preparation

AAFCPAs’ unique approach to client service delivers much more than the required compliance. Our team serves as a trusted advisor and provides sound financial management advice and winning best practice recommendations that will help your organization to thrive. We are proud of our positive impact and encourage you to contact our clients to learn first-hand about our exceptional value.

“We have asked for advice from AAFCPAs many times in the last 15 years. I can honestly say that each time the advice given has worked out exceptionally well for us. AAFCPAs’ proven advice has had a positive impact on our business practices. Every time I meet with someone from my AAFCPAs team I ask them the question: What are you seeing across our sector? And we always learn something. The unique way they deliver industry trends along with sound technical advice is very powerful.”

ArtsBoston, Inc. | Catherine Peterson, Executive Director