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The Financial Reporting and Information Guide for Tribal Governments and Enterprises — known across Indian Country as the Orange Book — has shaped how Tribes and their enterprises approach financial reporting since NAFOA first published it in 2017.

This episode, host Wes Benally talks with Corrine Wilson, CPA, former REDW Principal and National Tribal Practice Leader, about how the Orange Book actually got its start. Corrine walks through REDW's volunteer task force that helped turn the early guide into a ten-chapter Orange Book in 2017, how the book has since become a training staple for Tribal finance staff, auditors, and even federal regulators, and why she's spent nearly her whole career pushing for accounting guidance built specifically for Indian Country.

Corrine also previews what's ahead: a third edition of the Orange Book, now in final print stages, reflecting new GASB guidance on leases, updated approaches to indirect costs, and IRS regulations on the general welfare doctrine.

It's set to be front and center at NAFOA's Fall Finance & Tribal Economies Conference, September 21–22 in Santa Fe. Corrine will co-lead an Orange Book overview session and join a panel on Tribal enterprises.

Heading to NAFOA's Fall Conference? Keep an eye out for the Orange Book sessions🍊 — and your friendly REDW professionals leading these sessions — and if you don't have a copy of the guide on your desk yet, now's a great time to get one.

REDW Advisors and CPAs is proud to bring you the Insight in Indian Country Podcast, covering important advisory, accounting, and finance topics that impact Tribal Nations and business affairs. Thanks for listening!

Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome & Why the Orange Book Matters
• 01:29 – Before the Orange Book: The Purple Book Origins
• 06:50 – Creating the First Orange Book (2017)
• 10:58 – Structuring Ten Chapters Around Tribal Realities
• 14:03 – The Orange Book's Reach — Training Thousands in Indian Country
• 16:11 – What's New in the Third Edition (Leases, Indirect Costs, General Welfare Doctrine)
• 20:07 – A Labor of Love: Passing the Torch
• 22:56 – Get Ready for NAFOA's Fall Conference
• 24:29 – Why Tribal Accounting Became Corrine's Passion
• 27:29 – What Indian Country Still Needs
• 32:25 – Closing Thoughts & Session Preview

Takeaways

• The Orange Book's roots trace back to NAFOA's "Purple Book," first published around 2003–2004 to help Tribes implement GASB Statement 34 — Corrine helped write it while serving as NAFOA's first-ever representative to the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC), from 2000–2006.
• REDW's tribal practice — led at the time by retired partners Bruce Bleakman and Glenn Post — volunteered to lead the task force that expanded the Purple Book into the ten-chapter Orange Book, published by NAFOA in 2017.
• The Orange Book is organized around how tribal governments actually operate — governmental activities, business-type enterprises, fiduciary funds, and common special-purpose entities like housing authorities, healthcare facilities, and gaming — with each chapter reviewed by GASB and AICPA for alignment with authoritative GAAP.
• University certificate programs held at Arizona State and Oklahoma State have trained thousands of Tribal finance professionals using the Orange Book as a core resource, and federal regulators have indicated that they rely on it too.
• A third edition is in final print stages ahead of NAFOA's Fall Finance & Tribal Economies Conference (September 21–22, 2026, Santa Fe), incorporating new GASB standards on leases, expanded guidance on indirect cost rates, and IRS regulations on the general welfare doctrine and 100%-tribally-owned enterprise funds.
• Corrine will join a panel for an Orange Book overview session with NAFOA's current GASAC representative and former REDW Senior Manager Hattie Mitchell, and join a separate panel on Tribal enterprises, at the Fall conference.

REDW Advisors and CPAs is proud to bring you the Insight in Indian Country Podcast, covering important advisory, accounting, and finance topics that impact Tribal Nations and business affairs. Thanks for listening!

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Earlier this year, Soaring Bird Solutions — a name well known across Indian Country for its Tribal-focused HR consulting — joined REDW, uniting founder Karla Bylund with REDW's HR Consulting Practice Leader, Cristin Heyns. In this episode, Wes Benally sits down with Karla to trace that journey: the meaning behind her Potawatomi name, Pneshi Bmashi ("Bird Who Soars"); the gap in HR knowledge across Indian Country that led her to found Soaring Bird Solutions in 2015; and what led her, after a decade serving Tribal governments, casinos, enterprises, and nonprofits, to bring that work into REDW's broader advisory platform.

The conversation turns to what's ahead: REDW's Tribal Leadership & Management (TL&M) Conference in Las Vegas — a gathering Karla co-founded to bring authentic, Tribally grounded training in leadership, governance, HR, and more to Tribal council members, administrators, and executives.

Curious what expanded Tribal HR support could look like for your organization? Connect with REDW's Tribal HR Consulting team to learn more.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Introduction: Karla Bylund and the Soaring Bird Story
• 01:14 – The Meaning Behind "Bird Who Soars" and Karla's Path into Tribal HR
• 02:23 – Starting Soaring Bird Solutions in 2015 to Close a Gap in Tribal HR
• 04:49 – The Toughest HR Challenges in Indian Country
• 07:31 – Why Karla Joined REDW: Capacity, Continuity, and Shared Values
• 09:12 – Working with an Expanded Consulting Bench
• 13:04 – Introducing the Tribal Leadership & Management (TL&M) Conference
• 16:03 – What Attendees Can Expect from TL&M
• 19:00 – Closing Thoughts and the Exclusive Registration Discount for Listeners

Tribal HR Support, Backed by a Full Advisory Bench

Whether you've worked with Karla and her team for years or you're just getting to know REDW, Tribal organizations now have access to trusted HR consulting alongside REDW's full suite of services — audit, tax, compensation, cybersecurity, and more.

Learn more about REDW's Tribal HR Consulting practice, and use code REDWPOD26 to register for this year's TL&M Conference before the extended Early Bird deadline at the end of August.

The 4th annual Tribal Leadership & Management Conference is October 14 – 15, 2026 | South Point Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas, NV.

REGISTER BY AUG 31! ➡️ https://whova.com/portal/registration/VBG0F3LdQig8nSuY3b78/]

REDW Advisors and CPAs is proud to bring you the Insight in Indian Country Podcast, covering important advisory, accounting, and finance topics that impact Tribal Nations and business affairs. Thanks for listening!

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In this special episode of Insight in Indian Country, REDW HR Consulting Business Partner Jessica Goodfox sits down with Senior HR Consultant Taryn Reynolds to revisit their session at the 2026 WEWIN National Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma — "Breaking the Need to Explain Yourself: Confidence, Boundaries, and Voice for Indigenous Women." What started as a breakout session filled to standing room only became a candid, packed-room conversation about the pressure many Indigenous women feel to over-explain, soften their message, or justify their boundaries in professional and community spaces. Jessica and Taryn share what stood out from the room, walk through their "Rewrite the Script" exercise for turning over-apologetic responses into clear, respectful ones, and unpack how cultural values of humility and respect can coexist with self-advocacy and a clear voice.

Grab your companion permission slips and worksheet HERE and get ready to build a healthier communication culture in your organization with REDW's HR Consulting team.

REDW Advisors and CPAs is proud to bring you the Insight in Indian Country Podcast, covering important advisory, accounting, and finance topics that impact Tribal Nations and business affairs. Thanks for listening!

👉 Visit our website