April 20, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
NEW BOOKS
Sarbanes-Oxley and Nonprofit Management: Skills, Techniques, Methods
by Peggy M. Jackson and Toni E. Fogarty
This book aims to prepare nonprofit organizations for the possible increase in scrutiny from donors and governments that could come about as a result of the American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act of 2002 to govern business. It is better known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, after Sen. Paul Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland, and Rep. Michael G. Oxley, Republican of Ohio, who drafted the legislation.
While the laws require charitable groups to comply with only a few elements, many nonprofit organizations are choosing to adopt new, tougher internal policies in the areas of accountability and finance under pressure from donors and board members, the book notes.
The decision to voluntarily follow the federal standards “would create greater credibility and the ability to recruit high-quality board members, and attract the favorable attention of major donors, foundations, and other funding sources,” write Peggy M. Jackson and Toni E. Fogarty, founding partners of the Fogarty, Jackson & Associates Consulting Group, in San Francisco.
Understanding Sarbanes-Oxley is critical now that lawmakers have discussed the idea of extending some aspects of the legislation to cover nonprofit groups, such as holding executive directors, chief financial officers, and other senior nonprofit executives criminally liable for the accuracy of their groups’ financial statements.
The authors recommend ways to create policies to protect workers who come forward to report wrongdoing, which is one aspect of Sarbanes-Oxley that already applies directly to nonprofit groups.
They provide a sample whistleblower-protection policy that organizations can adopt to comply with the law.
Every chapter includes worksheets to help nonprofit officials deal with particular aspects of the law’s requirements.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 111 River Street, Hoboken, N.J. 07030; (201) 748-6000; fax (201) 748-6088; http://www.wiley.com; 324 pages; $45; ISBN 0-471-75419-6.
