Conference to address nonprofit accountability

By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	"Breaking Boardom" Tomorrow, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom Cost: $50 For more information, call 589-2237, or visit hawaiicommunityfoundation.org.

In light of scandals involving corporations such as Enron, whose directors failed at their oversight responsibilities, nonprofits are finding they need to take the initiative and minimize the possibility of abuse by errant officers.

"The world has changed. There's more scrutiny and accountability issues facing nonprofits," said Kelvin Taketa, president and chief executive of Hawai'i Community Foundation, a charitable services group.

Tomorrow, the foundation will put on its first conference on governance for board members called "Breaking Boardom." Taketa expects at least 300 people to attend the event, which could be made into an annual conference.

"Breaking Boardom" will address accountability issues in light of recent regulatory reforms, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which enhanced accountability standards.

Taketa said the state's nonprofit groups are fairly open with information since those bringing in at least $25,000 a year must file tax returns with the IRS. About 20 percent of the roughly 5,000 nonprofits in the state fall into that category, he said. If a nonprofit receives more than $300,000 a year in federal money, it has to be independently audited.

But preventing abuse completely is impossible, and nonprofit boards should become more engaged in the groups they oversee, Taketa said.

Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.