Nonprofit Auditors: Meet the James Moore Team

Your nonprofit just wrapped up another year of changing lives in your community. Now comes the part that keeps many executive directors up at night: the annual audit. Finding nonprofit auditors who understand your mission while meeting compliance requirements isn’t as simple as it should be.

We get it. You need someone who speaks both the language of impact and the language of IRS Form 990. That’s where the James Moore team comes in.

Why Your Choice of Nonprofit Auditors Actually Matters

Here’s what most people miss: an audit isn’t just about checking boxes for your board or funders. It’s about understanding the financial story behind your mission work. When you partner with auditors who specialize in the nonprofit sector, you get someone who knows why that temporarily restricted grant revenue needs special attention or how to properly account for your donated facilities.

The wrong auditors treat your organization like any other business. They miss the nuances that matter. Your donor-imposed restrictions aren’t the same as standard accounts payable. Your volunteer hours and in-kind contributions need someone who understands contribution accounting inside and out.

There’s also the compliance side to consider. Single audit requirements, OMB Uniform Guidance, and IRS Form 990. These aren’t areas where you want someone learning on the job at your expense. The stakes are real: a finding in a federal single audit can jeopardize future funding, and a mishandled Form 990 can raise red flags with donors and oversight bodies alike. Choosing auditors who live and breathe nonprofit accounting isn’t just a preference. It’s a practical necessity.

Meet the People Behind the Numbers

We’ve built our nonprofit practice around something pretty straightforward: deep expertise delivered by people who care about your mission. Our team includes CPAs who’ve spent their entire careers working exclusively with nonprofits. They know the sector because they’ve chosen it, not because it happened to be on their client list this month.

Corinne LaRoche, CPA | Partner, leads our nonprofit services team. Her work spans audit and assurance, nonprofit tax and CFO and controllership services. She’s a certified member of the AICPA’s Not-for-Profit Section and a trusted authority on OMB Uniform Guidance and the Florida Single Audit Act. She also brings the perspective of someone who has served on local nonprofit boards, which means she understands the real-world pressures your leadership team faces, not just the accounting ones.

James Halleran, CPA | Partner, brings more than 25 years of experience in governmental and nonprofit auditing. He has extensive involvement with entities receiving state and federal financial assistance subject to Government Auditing Standards and the Florida Single Audit Act. James is one of only a few Annual Comprehensive Financial Report reviewers for the GFOA in the state of Florida and serves on the FGFOA technical resource committee, which speaks to the level of recognition he’s earned among his peers.

Karsten Derendorf, CPA | Director, focuses almost exclusively on nonprofit clients. He has deep knowledge of grant agreements, federal and state single audits and OMB Uniform Guidance. Karsten also brings specialized expertise in federally qualified health centers, where the intersection of healthcare regulations and nonprofit compliance creates a unique set of accounting challenges that require a very specific skill set.

Andrew Ferguson, CPA | Senior Manager, specializes in Community Action Agencies and Head Start programs. His command of single audit requirements and OMB Uniform Grant Guidance has helped these organizations stay in compliance and operate with confidence. Andrew also serves as treasurer for a nonprofit that supports Haitian orphaned children, so his commitment to mission-driven work extends well beyond the office.

What Working Together Actually Looks Like

We don’t show up once a year, request a mountain of documents and disappear into a conference room. Our approach is collaborative from day one. We take time upfront to understand your programs, your funding sources and your growth plans. That context matters when we’re evaluating your financial controls or discussing your reserve policies with your board.

You’ll work with a consistent team who knows your organization’s story. They remember that capital campaign from two years ago. They understand why your expenses spike in Q2 when you run your summer programs. This continuity means more efficient audits and better insights for your leadership team.

And here’s something we hear often from clients: our auditors actually explain things in plain English. No jargon dumps or cryptic accounting speak. If there’s an issue, we tell you what it means for your organization and what to do about it.

Beyond Compliance: Adding Real Value

Sure, you need clean financials and a solid audit opinion. But we think nonprofit auditors should do more than that. Our team looks for opportunities to strengthen your operations throughout the engagement. Maybe we notice an internal control that could be tightened up. Or we see a way to present your program expenses that tells a better story to donors.

We’re also thinking ahead about what’s coming. New grant opportunities with federal funding? We’ll help you understand what that means for compliance. Planning a merger with another organization? We can walk you through the accounting implications before you’re too far down the road.

The nonprofit sector needs organizations that are financially strong and mission-focused. We’ve built our practice to support both those goals. Our team brings technical expertise without losing sight of why your work matters.

If you’re looking for nonprofit auditors who combine technical excellence with genuine partnership, our team is ready to help. We’ll make sure your audit process runs smoothly while strengthening your financial foundation for the mission work ahead. Contact us today to get started. 

All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a James Moore professional. James Moore will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.