4 Major Reasons Why Your HOA Needs an Expert Community Association Accounting Team
Today’s community associations in Tacoma, WA and nationwide are faced with an ever-changing landscape of legal and financial requirements. As integral parts of an HOA’s solvency, these financial obligations require skillful management that often can’t be achieved by a community’s volunteer board members alone.
From collecting dues to managing investments, choosing an HOA management firm with an expert accounting team is essential to ensuring your neighborhood’s long-term success. Here are four of the main reasons why your HOA needs an expert community association accounting team behind it.
1. Accurate financial statements
Most community associations are legally required to maintain accurate financial statements at all times because they function as nonprofit corporations. Your HOA board also needs to be able to accurately track the income, expenses and assets of your community association to make sure resources are being managed effectively.
Accurate financial statements provide a roadmap for the HOA to understand its financial health and how to make decisions that will benefit the community and its residents. If your assets and expenses aren’t meticulously tracked, you could put the financial health of your community association in jeopardy.
A professional HOA financial management team will handle all financial responsibilities associated with statement-keeping, including collecting assessments, pursuing delinquent assessments, generating financial statements and making association tax payments.
2. Specialized industry experience
HOA accounting differs significantly from accounting for individuals or for-profit businesses. As such, this niche category should be handled by a team that works specifically within the HOA financial management industry and is up-to-date with its unique requirements.
HOA financial management firms will be able to accurately track and report financial data in accordance with industry standards and regulations, and they’ll also be able to offer advice based on their knowledge of the industry. As a nonprofit, all money that comes in must be paid out, and HOA management experts will know this and the best ways to handle these financial matters efficiently and effectively.
3. Local knowledge
Not only does your accountant need to be familiar with the community association industry, but they also need to be aware of laws and regulations in your local area. Legal and financial obligations often vary by state, county or even city, so you need an expert HOA financial management team with managers in your local area.
Unlike many of the large national HOA management companies, which centralize their accounting teams, The Management Trust has 24 local offices across the western United States. This allows us to provide the resources and expertise of a large, national corporation while remaining in touch with local residents’ needs as well as local legal and financial obligations.
4. A full support team
Even small HOAs require significant day-to-day support. That’s why we have an extensive team of experts ready to assist whenever you need them. We create personalized one-on-one relationships with our board members, and we strive to always be available for any questions or concerns. When it comes to financial matters, responses are urgent and often time-sensitive; that’s why The Management Trust always strives to be proactive rather than reactive, making your HOA living experience hassle-free — including the financial aspects of your operation.
At The Management Trust, we offer independent HOA financial management services as well as full-service community management. All of our financial operations are SSAE 116 compliant and are highlighted by our proprietary TrustLink software. Our financial services include statement organization, record-keeping services, fund management, direct deposit, vendor billings management, audit coordination, escrow services and much more. To learn more about how our expert HOA accounting team can assist your Tacoma, WA community association, give us a call at (253) 472-0825 or fill out our online contact form today.
