NYS Charities Bureau sues NYCharities.org and Its Board of Trustees

Attorney General James Sues NYCharities.org for the missing funds that the organization failed to turn over to New York charitable organizations..

Read full document here: NYS vs. NYSCHARITIES.ORG

Here is an example of the power of the Attorney General in its role of oversee all charitable organizations on behalf of the people of New York. As is usually the case, the suit extends to the board members of the organization for breaches of fiduciary duties in overseeing the organization.

Audit Committees and the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013

New Guidance was publiched by the NYS Charities Bureau.

You can find it here:

http://www.charitiesnys.com/pdfs/Audit_Committees.pdf

Excerpt:

New York’s Executive Law requires most organizations that solicit charitable contributions in New York to register with the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau.1 Organizations whose revenues exceed the thresholds described later in this guidance are required to submit audited financial statements “in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, including compliance with all pronouncements of the financial accounting standards board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.”2 The audit must be submitted with New York’s Annual Filing for Charitable Organizations (Form CHAR500) and Internal Revenue Service Form 990. To enhance compliance with the audit requirement, the Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013 (“the NPRA”) added section 712-a to the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (“N-PCL”) setting forth the audit oversight responsibilities of not-for-profit corporations and section 8-1.9 to the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (“EPTL”) setting forth the responsibilities of trusts3 that are subject to the audit requirements. EPTL section 8-1.9 specifically makes applicable to charitable trusts a number of sections of the NPRA, including the provisions addressing audit oversight, as well as related party transactions and mandatory conflict of interest and whistleblower policies. This guidance has been prepared to assist nonprofits in implementing audit oversight procedures or revising procedures already in place. It should not, however, be viewed as a substitute for advice from an organization’s attorney or accountant.