Kristen L. Saunders

Kristen is a mid-senior level member of AAFCPAs’ Managed Accounting Solutions (MAS) practice, providing outsourced, cloud-based finance & accounting support for nonprofits, foundations, and grant-making organizations. She works with executive management to define financial processes and implement infrastructure and systems needed to support organizational goals. She identifies areas of improvement and helps organizations to address fluctuating needs and priorities with proactive anticipation and thoughtful planning.

As a key member of a nonprofit finance function, Kristen manages support staff and oversees processing of AR/AP, check disbursements, and the reconciliation process to the general ledger. She also manages foundation & corporate grantor contracts and reimbursement requests, and oversees responsible management of endowment funds and investment revenue. She assists in the creation of annual budgets and monitors cash flow. She reviews and approves preparation and finalization of monthly and annual financial reporting materials and benchmarking metrics for Executive Management and Boards of Directors, which assists in strategic decision making. Kristen works with foundation clients to plan, minimize and monitor excise taxes and unrelated business income tax. This includes monitoring distributions to achieve the lower tax rate of 1% and implementing strategies related to investment sales transactions to mitigate significant excise tax.

Kristen’s strong background in finance and accounting includes 7 years of diverse experience in the Assurance practice of AAFCPAs, examining financial statements, disclosures, and internal control procedures for diverse nonprofits. Her experience includes audits, reviews, compilations, and preparation of financial statements. Kristen possesses numerous attributes attractive to AAFCPAs’ MAS clients, which includes extensive training and exposure to best practices of sophisticated nonprofits, government auditing standards, and complex grant accounting and financial transactions. She has a keen understanding of the needs of grantors, donors, and nonprofit regulators. She has extensive experience with the preparation and filing of the Federal Form 990 and 990-PF returns, and understands how these filings inform the public about crucial aspects of a nonprofit. Kristen has been enthusiastically serving AAFCPAs’ clients since 2011.

Education

• University of Connecticut – Bachelor of Science, Business Accounting, magna cum laude