Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas Success Story

Thriving with MIP® to Support Senior Citizens in Arkansas 

The Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Arkansas (AAASWA) serves 12 counties in Southwestern Arkansas, overseeing 24 senior centers and serving about 5,000 individuals monthly. 

However, it was not an auspicious start when CFO Cindy Lewis joined AAASWA as a bookkeeper in June 2009. A new auditor came to examine their finances, and the organization’s fund accounting system was underequipped. Lewis and her team were even writing out some checks on a typewriter. 

When the new auditors arrived, they said, “Oh no.” Lewis knew AAASWA needed a change. Four other area agencies were already using MIP Fund Accounting®, and the auditor suggested AAASWA do the same.   

MIP helps to manage the variety of funds that AAASWA manages and administers, ensuring essential operations like payroll are done correctly and on time. The end result? Accurate reports that demonstrate their agency’s impact to their board and external stakeholders, and continued success with MIP at the core. 

“Being a nonprofit that is federally and state funded, we must have a secure program that can track each grant separately,” Lewis said. “MIP was recommended by our auditors and several other area agencies use it as well.” 

Key takeaways include:  

• How AAASWA uses MIP to manage and oversee its funds  
• How MIP’s reporting suite is helping AAASWA to tell its financial story  
• Why AAASWA continues to use MIP today and migrated to MIP Cloud 

Read AAASWA’s success story and let us know how we can help you implement a new fund accounting software program.