How we help you
When every grant-funded dollar matters and strong finances are critical to supporting your tribe’s future, your accounting function needs specialized knowledge and capability to make sure financial management stays effective.
Give your existing accounting team bandwidth to focus on critical initiatives.
Add tribal-experienced leadership and specialized professionals without the cost and complexity of hiring.
Scale your accounting function to support growth, fill gaps or meet evolving needs.
Uncover and act on opportunities to streamline accounting processes and improve operational efficiency.
Strengthen council and finance leadership through targeted training, coaching and development.
Modernize accounting systems and processes with experienced technology and project management support.
Experienced accounting support tailored to your tribe
Wipfli brings a deep understanding of tribal finance and works closely with your team to provide seamless collaboration and lasting impact.
Explore our 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.
Insights and resources
WEBINAR | July 25, 2024
Tomorrow’s vision realized: The budgeting and planning evolution for tribal governments
Comparing budget numbers to actuals. Creating dashboards and reporting. Distributing budgets and forecasts. Planning for personnel. Managing budget approvals and modifications. If your tribe struggles with any part of the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) process, this on-demand webinar is for you. In this session, Wipfli and Martus Solutions addressed tribal governments’ biggest and most common budgeting and FP&A challenges. They asked thought-provoking questions to help tribal governments evolve their budgeting and planning functions, and they introduced practical tips to make the next planning season go smoothly. Watch the webinar to learn how to: Prepare for annual budgeting and planning sessions. Automate budget approvals across the tribe. Streamline budget modifications. Leverage personnel planning models. Allocate personnel grants and expenses. Watch the replay to make budgeting and planning easier and more effective for your tribe. Presenters April Bacon, Wipfli Vanessa Chambers, Martus Solutions
WEBINAR | May 23, 2024
The budgeting and planning evolution: Tomorrow’s vision, realized
Master the budgeting process with Wipfli and Martus Solutions. This webinar is designed to improve your budgeting and planning methods and elevate financial planning and analysis (FP&A) within your organization. April Bacon from Wipfli and Vanessa Chambers from Martus Solutions help viewers uncover their greatest needs and biggest opportunities. In this session, they combine an accountant’s viewpoint with modern technology and provide practical ideas to improve FP&A. Watch the replay to learn techniques to: Kick-start the annual budgeting season. Automate budget approvals. Leverage robust personnel planning models. Watch today to improve your financial planning and budgeting processes Presenters April Bacon, Wipfli Vanessa Chambers, Martus Solutions
ARTICLE
Upcoming deadlines for tribal State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
March 29 update to article: On March 27, 2024, the U.S. Treasury released an update extending the April 30, 2024, reporting deadline for administrative costs estimates. The notice stated: “As a reminder, recipients are considered to have incurred an obligation by December 31, 2024, with respect to a requirement under federal law or regulation or a provision of the SLFRF award terms and conditions to which the recipient becomes subject as a result of receiving or expending SLFRF funds. Recipients may submit to Treasury an estimate of SLFRF funds that it will use to cover such costs. Recipients are not required to submit estimates for all administrative costs associated with their projects; rather, they must submit an estimate if they want to cover such costs using SLFRF funds that they would otherwise have to return to Treasury after 2024 as unobligated. Treasury is extending the deadline for recipients to report this estimate of costs to meet legal and administrative requirements to July 31, 2024, for quarterly reporters, or April 30, 2025, for annual reporters . Previously, the deadline was April 30, 2024.” Original article: The U.S. Treasury has released the Obligation Interim Final Rule (IFR) effective November 2023. The IFR is a new regulation issued by the U.S. Treasury that affects how tribal governments can use the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) they received from the American Rescue Plan Act. The IRF addresses the definition of an “obligation” in regard to spending SLFRF, as well as certain deadlines for the obligation of those funds. The revised definition of the term “obligation,” based on the uniform guidance definition, still means an order placed for property or services or contracts, subawards or similar agreements that require a payment. Here’s what your tribal government needs to know to prepare for obligating your SLFRF: Obligation deadline The main deadline to “obligate” the SLFRF funds is December 31, 2024. However, there is one earlier deadline regarding these funds and how these funds are considered obligated. Tribal governments will need to report administrative costs estimates by April 30, 2024. This earlier deadline covers SLFRF funds used for allowable expenditures that are not for hard goods, including all long-term construction projects, including water, sewer or broadband projects. Tribal governments need to comply with the IFR to avoid losing or returning any of the SLFRF money they received. (The IFR did not change the December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2026, deadlines for obligating and spending the SLFRF.) Tribal governments should review the IFR carefully and plan to ensure they obligate and spend their SLFRF funds in accordance with the rules and timelines. Obligation criteria All transactions that meet the definition must be obligated by December 31, 2024. Some examples of an obligation that meets the criteria are: A signed contract for services covering a period of time not to exceed December 31, 2026. A signed construction contract for large construction projects with an explicit price stated for the project. An order placed for materials, like the materials to build a home set for delivery on a set schedule. A subaward granted to a sub-awardee. Indirect costs being charged to the SLFRF funds. Some examples that are not considered an obligation for this purpose include: A purchase order that does not have an actual order of material or services attached. A budget appropriation of funds for a project that has not begun. A budget or allocation of SLFRF funds. The IFR also set a secondary definition of an “obligation” for the following activities: Reporting and compliance requirements, including subrecipient monitoring Single audit costs Record retention and internal control requirements Property standards Environmental compliance requirements Civil rights and nondiscrimination requirements Many of these costs could be payroll and related costs that have yet to be obligated via a contract or similar document. However, the IFR gives recipients a little flexibility in these allowable costs. Each recipient must: Estimate the costs it will use to cover these allowable administrative and compliance-related costs. Document a reasonable justification for the estimate. Report the amount to the U.S. Treasury by April 30, 2024. Report at award closeout the final amount expended for these costs. Keep in mind that all expenditures, excluding administrative expenditures necessary to close out the SLFRF, must be expended by December 31, 2026. Key questions As you navigate these new updates, your tribal government may run into questions including: What happens if my tribal government overestimates the administrative costs? Any unexpended funds must be returned to the Treasury. They cannot be reallocated to another cost. Are tribal governments allowed to reallocate obligated costs after December 31, 2024? In general, no. After December 31, 2024, a recipient is not allowed to re-obligate or obligate additional funds. However, there are a few instances where recipients are allowed to replace a contract or subaward entered into before December 31, 2024. These exceptions include: If a recipient terminates a contract or subaward due to a contractor or subrecipient’s (contractor) default, the contractor goes out of business or if the recipient determines the contractor will be unable to perform The recipient and contractor mutually agree to terminate the contract for convenience The recipient terminated the contract if the contract was improperly awarded. There must be clear evidence the award was improper (i.e., the contractor wasn’t allowed to receive a contract). Next steps As your organization continues moving forward in 2024, it’s important to remember the December 31, 2024, deadline to obligate funds and the April 30, 2024, deadline to report administrative cost estimates to the Treasury. The Treasury has stated that it will update the SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance prior to the first quarter reporting period due no later than April 30, 2024.
Reach out to our team
See how our tribal accounting specialists can help you transform your financial operations and build a stronger future.
FAQ
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.
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Wipfli is ready to help you balance today’s challenges with the priorities that will shape your tribe’s future.
