Mark Nicolas
Managing Partner, Non-profit, Education & Government (CPA)
Memphis, TN
Industry Focus
  • Not-for-Profit
  • Education
  • Public Sector & Government
  • Retail
  • Real Estate
  • Manufacturing & Distribution
More
Service Areas
  • Audit, Reviews & Compilations
  • Employee Benefit Plan Audits
  • Forensics
  • Risk Advisory
  • Statutory Financial Audits
More

Overview

Mark is managing partner of DHG’s Non-profit, Education, and Government industry group, overseeing the services of more than 2,000 clients nationwide. He ensures the practice focuses on important industry issues that affect our clients and helps identify timely solutions. Mark’s accounting career spans more than 25 years and he has been with DHG’s audit practice since 2004.

Board members and management seek Mark’s advice on improving efficiency, transparency and accountability. Recently he has been focused on helping clients implement the new non-profit reporting model, revenue recognition guidance for both for-profits and non-profits, and the new lease accounting under GASB and FASB

In addition to serving the non-profit, education and government industries, Mark has numerous manufacturing and distribution, real estate and retail clients. Mark is also a certified fraud examiner. He assists organizations in developing policies and procedures that mitigate occupational fraud risks. Mark frequently speaks on the topic to employee and civic groups.

When he’s not working, Mark can be found spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Experience


Professional Organizations
  • Member, American Institute of CPAs
  • Member, Tennessee Society of CPAs
  • Member, Government Finance Officers Association
  • Member, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Education
  • Masters, Accounting
    University of Mississippi
  • Bachelors, Accounting
    University of Mississippi

In the Community


Civic Organizations
  • University of Memphis Accountancy Advisory Board
  • University of Memphis MILE Mentor
  • C12 Christian CEO Peer Advisory Group

Honors

Licenses

Licenses
  • Certified Public Accountant - TN - 14560

Knowledge Share

Grant Compliance Begins with Board Oversight
Publication | Jun 03, 2020
More About | Not-for-Profit | Assurance | COVID-19

The role of the board of directors is vital to ensuring that organizations are using resources effectively, taking on projects it has the resources to handle and fulfilling both its mission and compliance requirements. A knowledgeable, engaged and effective board can be the difference in whether or a not an organization receives or keeps grant funding.

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Cybersecurity Risks Increase for Colleges and Universities
Publication | May 26, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | IT Advisory | Risk Advisory | Cybersecurity | COVID-19

Boards and executive leaders often lack visibility into cybersecurity efforts. Cybersecurity risk management must be driven by senior leadership to ensure that resource investment is prioritized, addressing the most critical vulnerabilities that could expose highly sensitive data. Working from home and the increased need for online learning has raised additional cybersecurity risks that higher education institutions face. With this comes increased pressure to ensure that networks and platforms are secure enough to handle the additional number of online classes and network traffic.

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COVID-19 and Federal Work Study
Publication | May 12, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | COVID-19

COVID-19 has caused disruption in higher education institutions, which many believe will continue through the summer and fall semesters. During a recent conversation with an institution, DHG asked how the institution was handling students awarded Federal Work Study (FWS) funds. The institution responded, “We ended our FWS program in March when we closed the campus due to the coronavirus outbreak.” Higher education institutions are working to provide as much assistance to their students as possible and many are unaware that FWS can continue to be a source of student support.

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Five Things Non-Profits Can Do to Deter Fraud in a Work-from-Home Environment
Publication | Apr 22, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | Risk Advisory | COVID-19

Fraud occurs in good times and bad. The pressure to commit fraud increases during times of uncertainty and financial distress, which many are experiencing today with the COVID-19 pandemic. While a number of businesses have transitioned to working from home, others have seen significant layoffs or a reduction in hours due to the continued spread of COVID-19. Many families are navigating a spouse being out of work; children being home from school; and an overall sense of uncertainty about their finances and the future.

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IRS Extends Filing Deadline for Form 990
Alert | Apr 14, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | Tax | COVID-19

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released IRS Notice 2020-23 on April 9, 2020, providing further relief to filing and tax payment deadlines. Previous IRS Notice 2020-18 did not include informational returns such as Form 990, Form 990-EZ and Form 990-PF, and also did not include relief for filing and/or payment due dates other than April 15, 2020.

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Cash Management in the Time of COVID-19
Publication | Apr 09, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | Risk Advisory | COVID-19

In this time of uncertainty, many are busy managing the changing landscape of working from home and social distancing. As fiscal year-end approaches, non-profits, educational institutions and governmental entities are used to having collaborative meetings to tackle the challenges that this time of year normally presents. However, COVID-19 has caused significant changes in normal operations. One of the biggest challenges facing leaders is cash management, which should be at the forefront of priorities when confronting these unprecedented times. The following are some ideas and planning tools that such entities can use to improve cash flows.

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Relief for Non-profits during the uncertain times of COVID – 19
Publication | Apr 07, 2020
More About | Not-for-Profit | Tax | COVID-19

Many issues facing the business environment related to COVID-19 are magnified for non-profits due to the reliance on government grants, public fundraising and other forms of support, which can be difficult to forecast in a typical year, much less during these uncertain times. Employers are concerned with meeting the needs of their teams, while the needs of their program recipients increasingly grow.

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OMB Guidance in Response to COVID-19
Publication | Mar 31, 2020
More About | Education | Not-for-Profit | COVID-19

On March 19, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued memorandum M-20-17, Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) due to Loss of Operations. The memorandum provides temporary relief for federal award recipients and subrecipients impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Lease Accounting – Understanding the Implementation of GASB 87
Publication | Oct 11, 2019
More About | Not-for-Profit | Public Sector & Government | Assurance | Lease Accounting | Performance & Growth | Risk & Regulatory

GASB 87 has been a significant topic of conversation for many organizations, including adaptation and implementation of the single model for accounting and reporting. In this article, we cover the major changes required by the new standard as well as possible complexities that governments may face as they work toward compliance with the new lease standard.

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FASB Accounting Standards Update No. 2019-03 Addresses the Definition of “Collections”
Alert | Apr 22, 2019
More About | Not-for-Profit | Risk & Regulatory

Museums, botanical gardens, art galleries and other holders of collections are now obtaining consistency in their industry code and financial accounting standards. On Thursday, March 21, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2019-03 to update and modify the definition of the term “collections” as it relates to not-for-profit entities, which now parallels with the definition used in the American Alliance of Museums’ (AAM) Code of Ethics (the Code). In addition, ASU No. 2019-03 provides a technical correction to clarify the accounting and disclosure guidance for collections as it applies to business entities and nonprofits.

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