A c c o u n t i n g T a x A d v i s o r ySmart Devine | 1600 Market Street | 32nd Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | T 267-670-7300 | info@smartdevine.com

© 2014 Smart, Devine & Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Results Chris Niwinski conducted a full review of the financial environment of the Office for Financial Services, inclusive of the preparation of fiscal year end detailed account analyses and consolidated financial statements. Also, a review of internal con-trol and process enhancements was completed.

As lead contact with the external auditors during the financial statement audits of numerous Archdiocesan entities for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the CFO and Controller were able to focus on the day-to-day needs of the financial office.

n Business SituationIn September 2011, the Most Reverend Charles J.

Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., D.D. ar-rived in Philadelphia to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. One of the early challenges facing the church and Archbishop Chaput, was the need to gain an under-standing of the financial issues that were plaguing the Archdio-cese of Philadelphia and develop a strategy to restore the Archdi-ocese to a firm financial position.

In April 2012, a new financial leadership team was formed. Tim O’Shaughnessy was named Chief Financial Officer and Peter Yecco was named Controller.

NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM ENGAGES SMART DEVINEThe new leadership team and staff determined that the preparation of financial statements for the fiscal year 2012 audit would prove to be a very difficult task and would require expertise from an outside accounting firm. In addition, the Archdiocese was in the midst of changing audit firms.

Fortunately, when Tim O’Shaughnessy was working at another organization, he found success working with an outside accounting firm. Once again, O’Shaughnessy called upon the resources of SMART DEVINE, an ac-counting, tax and advisory firm headquartered in Phila-delphia to determine if he could engage in their services.

NIWINSKI HANDS-ON APPROACH WORKS Tim specifically asked for the services of Christo-pher Niwinski, a Senior Manager at SMART DEVINE. Chris worked with Tim on a project at his previous com-pany. Seeing the challenges Tim and his team were facing at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Chris arranged his schedule to step in and assist.

According to O’Shaughnessy “Chris is a well-orga-nized and hard-working professional who has proven to be a leader within the workplace. His hands-on ap-proach helping to lead the Archdiocesan staff through various accounting issues and important process and control matters demonstrated that he was the right man for the job.”

MAKING OPERATIONS MORE EFFICIENT Part of the duties Chris Niwinski assumed at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia included an interim lead-ership position within the Office for Financial Services, where he reported directly to the Controller and CFO. The objective for Chris was to improve the operations by making processes more efficient and provide the proper standards of reporting transparency.

Peter Yecco, Controller at the Archdiocese of Phila-delphia said “Chris was integral in the implementation of improved internal controls and financial reporting processes. He also helped to develop the skill sets of the existing staff. In addition, Chris interacted well with all departments within the organization and was viewed as part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia management team.”

BUILDING THE RIGHT TEAM TO RESTORE ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

A c c o u n t i n g T a x A d v i s o r y

Smart Devine provides a full range of accounting, advisory, tax and investigative forensic and litigation services to organizations across a variety of industries.

Smart Devine | 1600 Market Street | 32nd Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | T 267-670-7300 | info@smartdevine.com© 2014 Smart, Devine & Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

SMART DEVINE CAN HELP YOUChris Niwinski and the Non-Profit Practice at Smart Devine can guide you and

inform you about being effective in planning and developing a strong organization.

We offer a series of white papers to non-profit organizations’ board members and

leadership to enhance the understanding of duties and requirements for non-profit

organizations. Please contact Chris for more information at 267-670-7345 or email

cniwinski@smartdevine.com

SMART DEVINE OFFERS A FULL LINE OF SOLUTIONS INCLUDING:ACCOUNTING & AUDIT• Audit, Reviews & Compilation• Accounting & Tax Due Diligence• Accounting Outsourcing• Agreed Upon Procedures• Business Valuation• Finance Process & Reporting Optimization• Forecasts and Projections• Forensic Accounting & Litigation Support• Internal Control Study & Evaluation• Personal Financial Statements• Retirement Plan Audits & Prep• Trust Accounting• SEC Advisory Services• Special Project Coordination & Support• Technical Accounting Consulting• Transaction Advisory Services

TAX• Tax Return Compliance• Accounting for Income Taxes• ASC 740 (FAS 109) Tax Provision Services• International Taxation• IC-DISC• Tax Planning and Advisory• Tax Controversy• Transfer Pricing• Research and Development Tax Credit• State and Local Taxation

BUSINESS ADVISORY• Financial Advisory• Management Consulting Services• Technology Consulting Services

INSURANCE ADVISORY SERVICES• Accounting• Reviews • Claims Services • Underwriting/Premium • Forensic Accounting

FORENSIC AND LITIGATION SERVICES• Litigation Services• Environmental Litigation• Forensic Investigations• Trustee & Monitoring Services• Digital Forensics & eDiscovery

CASE STUDY

Christopher J. Niwinski, CPA Senior Consulting Manager