Board governance issues with not-for-profit organizations: knowledge of financial statements and assurance received

Abstract

Cape Breton not-for-profits are trying to find what amount of adherence to the guidance contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is necessary to ensure their organizations are accountable and transparent to their stakeholders. I will explore what financial reports are presented to the boards and the assurance levels received on the annual financial statements as it pertains to good governance by Cape Breton not-for profits. Accordingly I will compare them to international organizations in order to illustrate what is done and what should be best practice.