The Importance of Audits, According to Hope for Haiti’s CFO, Monica Perez

I’ve been with Hope for Haiti for about eight years and am currently leading the finance department as CFO. Over the years, I have managed our financial growth by making sure we had the appropriate policies and procedures in place needed to safeguard our assets and run as efficiently as possible. Some of my responsibilities include moving from paper files to cloud-based apps, onboarding our team to work management systems, and making sure our processes support our growing needs.

While most people hear the word audit and think negatively, I think it’s worth mentioning that it doesn’t have to be! Audits are actually a great tool for organizations and a great public accounting team can also serve as advisors when making key decisions on how certain activities can affect your financials and tax returns.

A simple google search tells us, “Audits provide assurance to investors and creditors that company funds are handled appropriately.” For non-profits, this is especially important. Donors want to know how their money is being spent and that they are making an impact for the cause they support.

CapinCrouse LLP designs their audit to concentrate on the organization’s various areas of risk, including, but not limited to: financial, regulatory, internal growth, personnel, technology, and fraud. This includes interviews with management, the review of processes and internal controls, and other assessments.

In our most recent audit, we obtained an unqualified opinion–meaning a clean audit with our financial statements being presented fairly and in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles).

We hope this will give our donors peace of mind, assuring them our organization handles their funding with integrity. At Hope for Haiti, we are committed to making every dollar of the money donated to Hope for Haiti meet the needs of our partners on the ground.

I am proud to say that Hope for Haiti has received over 10 years of clean audits and we intend to keep having them for many years to come!

To learn more about Hope for Haiti, visit www.hopeforhaiti.com.