2022/23 Audit Report
By James Hardenberg, CPA, CGMA, CAE, NJCPA Chief Learning Officer and Interim CFO –
December 1, 2023
The combined financial statements for the
NJCPA and Affiliates (NJCPA Education
Foundation and NJCPA Scholarship Fund)
for the year ended May 31, 2023, have
been published.
Fiscal 2023 began with a full-fledged
resurrection of many in-person events after
two years of mostly virtual events due to the
lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Compared to the latter part of fiscal 2022,
when three NJCPA chapters began to bring
members back for a total of seven in-person
training sessions, fiscal 2023 included 40
chapter in-person educational events, in
addition to social gatherings, along with the
Annual Convention & Expo in June and
the Atlantic City CPE Cluster in August.
On a combined basis, unrestricted
revenues increased by 6.8% from the prior
year, with much of the increase attributable
to chapter, Convention and Cluster educational
program fees, as well as a reduction
in the market value decline for all investment
portfolios combined. A material employee
retention credit (ERC) refund was also
received in May, which helped buoy the
fiscal year-end results.
New Jersey Society of CPAs
For the Society, membership dues were
slightly lower compared to fiscal 2022 due to a reduction in dues-paying members.
Overall, membership declined by the end
of May 2023. To help address this challenge,
a Pipeline Task Force was formed with
the goal to help stabilize and maintain
membership market share in the future.
Peer review fees were flat compared
to fiscal 2022, as a small increase in rates
helped offset ongoing firm mergers,
acquisitions and practitioner retirements.
The ERC refund helped boost the year-end
results and offset the market value decrease
in the NJCPA investment portfolio. Total
expenses increased by 11% as the pandemic
continued to recede, with more printing
and distribution activities, more travel
and meetings, and the conclusion of the
NJCPA CEO search.
NJCPA Education Foundation
The Foundation continued to operate and
attack in a “virtual-first” mode but also
began phasing back into in-person events.
As mentioned earlier, NJCPA chapters
began hosting events again, though at a
reduced level compared to pre-pandemic
times. The Convention and Atlantic City
CPE Cluster were also brought back after
a two-year hiatus. Educational program fee
revenue increased by 36% compared to
fiscal 2022, with a corresponding increase in the direct costs of education programs
due to food, beverage, audio visual and
other site-related charges that are not
found with virtual programs. The Foundation
ended the fiscal year with a negative
change to net assets of $142,000, and
though a negative result was expected for
this second fiscal year of the 2021-2023
licensing cycle, it was better than budget.
NJCPA Scholarship Fund
With NJCPA chapters only beginning
to phase back into in-person events after
a soft relaunch in fiscal 2022, chapter
contributions to the Fund were again held
back for a third year in a row. However, the
Fund still managed to provide $309,000
in scholarships during the fiscal year. The
Fund’s investment portfolio also experienced
a similar decline as the Society and the
Foundation, with the overall results being
a $203,000 negative change to net assets,
which was also better than budget.