Karen Gries, director in the exempt tax advisory group with Baker Tilly, has been active in many aspects of the tax-exempt sector for more than 25 years.
Karen has spent her career advising tax-exempt organizations with issues such as organizational structure, unrelated business income, alternative investments and other tax related complexities. Her experience has spanned a wide variety of organizations in the tax-exempt sector including colleges and universities, private foundations, independent schools and other charitable organizations.
- Advises clients on obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status
- Consults and advises on complex operational structures
- Assists clients on unrelated business income reporting including identification of unrelated business income, strategies to minimize federal and state tax and minimizing risk
- Provides guidance related to alternative investments and compliance, including federal, state and foreign tax complexities
- Prepares clients’ tax-exempt status applications
- Advises clients on tax matters/issues and prepares tax memorandums and other tax research
- Represents clients on IRS and state tax matters and examinations
- Frequent speaker and trainer on exempt tax and other operational matters for clients, board of directors, trade associations and others
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Minnesota Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA)
- TEGE Exempt Organizations Council, member
- IRS Advisory Committee on tax-exempt and government entities (ACT), former member of the exempt organizations sub-committee
- Alliance for Charitable Reform, a project of The Philanthropy Roundtable, former advisory council member
- Frequent speaker at regional and national conferences on exempt organization tax issues, including the AICPA, various State Society of CPAs, National Association of College and University Business Officers, Southern Association of College and University Business Officers, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Central Association of College & University Business Officers, Georgetown Exempt Organizations Conference, Washington Nonprofit Legal Conference and other organizations
- United Family Medicine, board member and chair, former treasurer
- CommonBond Endowment and CommonBond Communities, board member and audit committee member
