Carl Farish, PrincipalWhen Carl Farish, Principal of Ally Foundation Services, was engaged to help, the challenge extended well beyond reconciling the books.
The foundation held a substantial portfolio of alternative and private investments. Reconstructing three years of financial activity required months of investigation, verification, and coordination with investment managers to obtain missing information. Farish worked to establish reliable records and the supporting documentation necessary for the outstanding audits.
But resolving the immediate problem was only part of the assignment.
Farish also introduced month-end and year-end closing procedures, improved day-to-day accounting and grant-payment processes, and developed investment reports that provided the board with information it had previously lacked.
Without a clear picture of investment activity, the foundation had struggled to assess its grantmaking capacity and risked falling short of its minimum distribution requirement. Establishing a more reliable financial framework meant the board could monitor financial activity monthly and make better-informed decisions about grant distributions and its future.
All three outstanding audits were ultimately completed, and the foundation resumed a regular audit schedule. Farish continues to coordinate its annual audits, building on the financial systems and institutional knowledge established during the initial engagement.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
For Farish, the experience illustrates why private foundation accounting requires more than technical proficiency.
Financial reporting, investment activity, grantmaking, and regulatory obligations are closely connected. An accountant who understands those relationships can recognize when an issue has consequences beyond the immediate transaction— and when additional guidance from a CPA, attorney, or other advisor may be necessary.
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Strong financial systems aren't built around numbers alone. They're built around an understanding of the foundation they serve.
That perspective has developed over more than 12 years working with private foundations. It also informs the approach of Ally Foundation Services, the boutique firm Farish established to provide accounting and administrative support to foundations with varying needs and internal resources.
A Relationship That Builds Over Time
Farish begins each engagement by learning how a foundation operates: its financial history, existing systems, staff responsibilities, and relationships with other advisors.
Some foundations need comprehensive accounting and financial reporting support. Others have established teams but require assistance with complex investments, audit preparation, or administrative processes. Ally also provides grants administration support, including due diligence, expenditure responsibility documentation, and reporting coordination.
As those relationships develop, so does Farish's understanding of the foundation. Familiarity with past decisions, reporting requirements, and the people involved means questions can be addressed in context, without repeatedly reconstructing the history behind them. That continuity also helps Farish coordinate effectively with CPAs, attorneys, and investment advisors.
Farish also places considerable value on helping clients develop their own capabilities. Establishing effective procedures, improving financial reporting, and sharing knowledge with foundation staff can strengthen operations long after an immediate problem has been resolved.
That value is evident in Farish's continued work with the foundation whose audits he helped restore. What began as an urgent effort to address years of outstanding financial reporting became a lasting working relationship, supported by Farish's understanding of its investments, operations, and history.
Over time, that understanding becomes something more enduring: a foundation for the work still to come.
