Foundation for Accounting Education Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237171151
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2127198300
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,705,541
Expenses
$2,709,890
Assets
$624,978
Liabilities
$1,751,233

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BARBARA MARINO CPA (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • J MICHAEL KIRKLAND CPA (PRESIDENT)
  • KENNEETH GRALAK CPA (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • CALVIN HARRIS CPA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CALVIN HARRIS CPA (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $479,042 total reported compensation
  • PATRICK PAYANO CPA (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $352,768 total reported compensation
  • AMY WILLIAMS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $269,003 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide lifelong continuing education to certified public accountants in New York state.

What it reported doing in 2024

Foundation for accounting education (fae) provides continuing professional education (cpe) required to maintain a cpa license in New York state. Fae is qualified to provide cpe by the New York state department of education and the national association of state boards of accountancy (nasba). Under New York's accounting reform law, cpas whose principal place of business is New York are required to complete 40 hours of cpe every calendar year in general studies, including accounting, auditing, taxation, advisory services, and other areas, or 24 hours in a specialized subject. To help meet this requirement fae offers more than 478 courses annually including conferences, seminars, technical sessions, on-site cpe and online webinars. Courses keep participants updated on constantly changing regulations, technical and ethical issues and best practices in accounting and auditing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 71.8%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.8; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 71.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $479K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.