A veteran accountant from Mount Vernon ”“ Kristin Krauskopf CPA ”“ with a tally sheet of accomplishments, has launched a service targeting arts nonprofits.
The firm has four full-time employees and is already well established in the “full-service” realm, offering services that include bookkeeping, tax planning and multiple business services.
The company will now help arts-themed clients prepare and analyze financial data and satisfy the requirements ”“ Kristin Krauskopf calls them “labyrinthine” ”“ necessary to qualify for a share of the funds available through government grants and private endowments.
“The Great Recession has put tremendous pressure on all nonprofit organizations and artistic companies in particular are struggling to survive,” said Krauskopf, a CPA. She founded the company in 1985 and serves as CEO of the Stevens Avenue firm. “As consulting accountants, we can help these organizations compete more effectively for the diminished resources that are available today.”
According to a survey by Grantmakers in the Arts, the recession resulted in a 17.2 percent loss in foundation assets in 2008 and an estimated 8.4 percent reduction in 2009. The Alliance for the Arts reports that in New York City alone there are 562 nonprofit performance arts organizations competing for grants from government organizations like the New York State Council for the Arts and private funds like the Shubert Foundation.
“To succeed in this difficult environment, nonprofit art organizations must be able to present detailed and impeccably prepared financial statements,” said Krauskopf.
Before setting up her shop, Krauskopf served as comptroller for The New York Review of Books, which also owns The London Review of Books, Readers Subscription Book Club, Garden Book Club and The Kirkus Review Service. She served as national secretary of the American Society of Women Accountants and served as chairperson of the local practitioners committee of the New York State Society of CPAs, Westchester Chapter. For eight years, she appeared on the society’s “Dollar for Dollar” cable TV show. She has taught at Manhattanville College and served in several capacities with local associations.
