It’s easy for a nonprofit to keep records on everything today, particularly in this digital age. It’s not quite as easy, however, to know what records you are required to have and what records you don’t have to have or save. Further there is the question of for how long certain documents need to be retained. Not preparing certain documents or not following appropriate document retention policies and procedure can have troubling consequences, and depending on the document(s) in question can wind up involving the IRS and the Courts. Furthermore, IRS Form 990 asks about your record retention policies and the federal Sarbanes-Oxley “whistleblower” law actually forbids the destruction of certain records. There is much at stake for the nonprofit. Every nonprofit should consider doing a self-audit to determine if, first they are preparing all of the documents they are required to have, and second, if these records are being retained for the required amount of time, stored in the correct manner, and when the time comes being destroyed correctly.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Mr. Bradley will cover:
- The federal & state records you are required by law to maintain & to make publicly available
- Auditing which documents you are currently preparing throughout your organization and determining which of these are required and which are not
- The financial & membership records you should keep, including what should be kept permanently and what to toss
- Why many lawyers believe fewer records are better
- Developing & implementing a record retention policy
About Our Speaker(s)
John Bradley Attorney at Law
John Bradley is an attorney in the West Columbia, South Carolina office of Moore Taylor Law Firm. His 25 plus years of practice has involved numerous areas of law including Appellate Practice in State and Federal Courts, Construction Law, Commercial Liability, and Products Liability. His present practice primarily focuses on representing physicians, hospitals and medical care providers in the defense of professional negligence claims as well as representing and advising educators in employment matters before their local school boards and the State Department of Education.
John has long been active in nonprofits at the local and state level. He is a former president and current board member of the Friends of the Richland Library Friends and Foundation, which provides financial and volunteer support to the Richland Library, a nationally recognized library system. He presently serves as co-chair of “The Literary Vine,” the group’s signature fundraising gala, put on entirely by a volunteer effort. He is immediate past president of the Friends of South Carolina Libraries, an organization made up of library friends groups throughout the State of South Carolina. His duties and responsibilities as president included working and consulting with local Friends groups as well as with individuals interested in forming friends groups. In addition to his responsibilities with local nonprofits, John has spoken to nonprofit groups throughout the United States regarding legal topics relating to nonprofits.
An avid runner, John presently serves on the board for the Carolina Marathon Association, an organization that puts on two showcase running events in Columbia, the Governor’s Cup Road Race and the Heart and Sole race. He has served as race director and course manager for several other local road races.