Tribal accounting services

Our tribal government accounting services support the full spectrum of financial operations, from transactional activities to controller and CFO-level guidance. 

Whether you need to expand capacity, fill critical skill gaps or enhance financial leadership, our experienced professionals can help strengthen your finance function and stewardship of tribal resources. 

Fractional CFO  

• Provide financial analysis and strategic planning. 
• Create key performance indicators. 
• Evaluate margins and cost drivers or evaluate financial stability by program. 
• Provide grant accounting and tracking. 
• Consult on debt structure and refinancing opportunities. 
• Create and oversee action plans to address budget gaps. 
• Recommend benchmarks to measure performance. 
• Analyze cash-flow forecasting with management. 
• Identify opportunities to improve cash flow. 
• Maintain banking relationships. 
• Analyze significant vendor relationships and trends. 
• Analyze spending habits. 
• Manage workers’ compensation relationships and negotiate pricing. 
• Attend council meetings. 

Outsourced controller  

• Perform month-end close. 
• Perform bad debt calculations and analysis. 
• Review and analyze financial statements and identify trends. 
• Oversee accounting department personnel. 
• Monitor budget to actual, identifying variances. 
• Prepare and submit debt covenants and borrowing base reporting. 
• Oversee the production of periodic financial reports and KPIs. 
• Assess opportunities for automation and integration. 
• Provide support for your financial strategic plan. 
• Perform cash-flow management and oversight. 
• Monitor accounts receivable aging and advise management on overdue accounts. 
• Forecast and recommend payments based on cash flow. 
• Reconcile expense reports to employee credit card statements. 
• Supervise payroll processing and submission. 

 

Outsourced accounting and audit readiness  

• Support your audit readiness, including single audits and new market tax credit projects.  
• Download and monitor bank activity. 
• Grant accounting .  
• Enter vendor invoices. 
• Reconcile vendor statements. 
• Pay vendors and track accounts payable. 
• Download and monitor credit card activity. 
• Enter transactions from employee expense reports. 
• Create customer or grant invoices. 
• Record invoice payments and track grants and accounts receivable. 
• Process and record payroll. 
• Submit 401(k) or 403(b) payments. 
• Reconcile credit card and bank statements. 
• Record depreciation. 
• Track unbilled revenue. 
• Manage and store financial documents in the cloud. 
• Track and adjust significant balance sheet accounts (e.g., prepaids, accruals and debt). 

Wipfli understands the vital role your gaming enterprises play in generating revenue, supporting community investments and creating jobs.  

Our outsourced accounting and finance services support the full spectrum of your finance function, from daily accounting activities to controller and CFO-level leadership. Whether you’re augmenting staff, supporting finance leadership or preparing for growth, we provide the expertise to help strengthen performance and financial sustainability. 

Fractional CFO  

• Provide financial analysis and strategic planning. 
• Create key performance indicators. 
• Evaluate margins and cost drivers by product or evaluate financial stability by program. 
• Consult on debt structure and refinancing opportunities. 
• Create and oversee action plans to address budget gaps. 
• Recommend benchmarks to measure performance. 
• Analyze cash-flow forecasting with management. 
• Identify opportunities to improve cash flow. 
• Maintain banking relationships. 
• Perform bad debt calculations and analysis. 
• Analyze significant vendor relationships and trends. 
• Analyze spending habits. 
• Manage workers’ compensation relationships and negotiate pricing. 
• Attend management or council meetings. 

Outsourced controller  

• Perform month-end close. 
• Review and analyze financial statements and identify trends. 
• Oversee accounting department personnel. 
• Monitor budget to actual, identifying variances. 
• Prepare and submit debt covenants and borrowing base reporting. 
• Oversee the production of periodic financial reports and KPIs. 
• Assess opportunities for automation and integration. 
• Provide support for your financial strategic plan. 
• Perform cash-flow management and oversight. 
• Monitor accounts receivable aging and advise management on overdue accounts. 
• Forecast and recommend payments based on cash flow. 
• Reconcile expense reports to employee credit card statements. 
• Perform commissions calculations. 

Outsourced accounting and audit readiness  

• Download and monitor bank activity. 
• Enter vendor invoices. 
• Reconcile vendor statements. 
• Pay vendors and track accounts payable. 
• Download and monitor credit card activity. 
• Enter transactions from employee expense reports. 
• Create customer invoices. 
• Record invoice payments and track accounts receivable. 
• Record payroll. 
• Submit 401(k) or 403(b) payments. 
• Prepare and submit sales and use tax returns. 
• Reconcile credit card and bank statements. 
• Record depreciation. 
• Track unbilled revenue. 
• Manage and store financial documents in the cloud. 
• Track and adjust significant balance sheet accounts (e.g., prepaids, accruals and debt).

Wipfli helps tribal finance leaders expand their capabilities through personalized coaching and mentorship from experienced CFO and financial advisors. 

Our team works with CFOs, controllers and council members to create customized development plans that strengthen leadership skills and build expertise in areas such as: 

• Financial strategy and planning 
• Risk management 
• Financial reporting and compliance 
• Strategic decision-making 
• Project or program cost management and efficiency 
• Capital structure and project financing 
• Strategic decision making 
• Cash flow 

We provide access to a deep bench of experienced professionals who can augment your finance team, giving them time and greater capacity for special projects and to excel in their daily workload. We also offer training for tribal council members and finance leaders on key financial oversight topics, including federal funding requirements and compliance with Uniform Guidance. 

Wipfli’s core tribal accounting services include:  

• Outsourced accounting: Day-to-day accounting, KPI analysis, technical accounting support, grant tracking and financial reporting.  

• Technology-enabled accounting: Design and setup of accounting technology infrastructure and specialized government and casino ERP systems. Support for financial process automation and budgeting and planning tools.  

• Audit readiness: Support for compliance, internal audits and federal funds reporting, such as SEFA. 

• CFO and controller advisory: High-level financial planning and analysis, budgeting, forecasting and process optimization.