Blog Entries - 2023

A Force for Good

September 18, 2023

by Elizabeth Benson, Executive Director

(originally published in Greater Cincinnati Nonprofit News, 9/14/23)

 

What does it mean to have a career in the social sector? It could mean everything – to you and to the people you serve. But we have a big problem. As in almost every other employment sector, the nonprofit industry has a workforce shortage.

 

National Council of Nonprofits describes the situation in "Nonprofit Workforce Shortages: A Crisis That Affects Everyone”:

 

"Charitable nonprofits around the country are reporting significant difficulties retaining staff and filling vacancies. What was initially considered a challenge has now become a workforce crisis in need of immediate remedy and commitment to overcome longstanding problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While job vacancies in the government and business sectors may cause disappointment and lost profits, the lack of adequate nonprofit staffing means the public suffers delayed or complete loss of needed services."

 

Independent Sector found that, "In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of nonprofit sector jobs finally exceeded 2017 employment levels." As nonprofit positions rebounded post-pandemic, phenomena like the "great resignation" and the gig economy impair our ability to fully deliver missions and services. Lack of resources for competitive pay compounds the problem.

 

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Hiring Is Hard! What to Know When Considering Outsourcing Accounting Services

August 21, 2023

by Nathan Musgrove, Founding Partner, C.P.A.

Excelsior Accounting Services

 

Let’s face it – if you haven’t struggled through your own accounting staffing challenges, you at least know someone who has. The number of nonprofit executives I speak with who are struggling to hire and retain quality accounting staff seems to be growing at an exponential rate. Unfortunately for all of us, the problem is only likely to worsen as the accounting profession confronts growing challenges in perception and appeal to new college graduates.

 

Many executives confronting these obstacles have turned to an increasingly prevalent alternative – outsourcing all or a portion of their organizations’ accounting work to a third-party service provider. As the owner of a firm that does just that, I am not bashful in saying there are many environments in which outsourced accounting services could represent an optimal solution, yielding improvements in quality or cost of your overall accounting footprint – and sometimes both! An outsourced provider can often offer more robust professional expertise, greater nimbleness to better manage periods of staff transition, and the flexibility to grow or contract with you as your company evolves – often a much more palatable alternative to hiring or terminating in-house employees.

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