The Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS has recently made a change in how they select nonprofit organizations for audits of the Form 990. Previously, audit selections were made based on specific types of organizations. For example, after the IRS conducted a study of nonprofit hospitals, those organizations were audited in higher numbers than other …
Does your organization check all the right boxes? For Schedule A, that is. Schedule A is a crucial piece of the 990 for nonprofits as it calculates whether they truly qualify as a publicly supported organization or not. Generally, to be considered a publicly supported organization, the nonprofit must have support of at least 33 …
Ever heard the cliché “comparing an apple to an orange”? I’m not a scientist and I don’t know the cellular differences of both, but I do know that oranges are acidic with a thick peel usually removed prior to consumption. Apple, on the other hand, is a brand of electronics most commonly seen in the …
Prior to becoming a CPA, when I heard “independence” I would think of Toby Keith songs, fireworks, and the American flag. Now that I’m an auditor, independence is not only a celebration on July 4th but also an assessment we must make on every attest engagement we perform. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) accurately …
It’s that time of year again, and this might be the first time your accountant is not referring to tax season. We are talking about Arizona Gives Day, the annual one-day online giving campaign to Arizona not-for-profits hosted by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers. Since 2013, this program has raised over $4,556,359. …
Approximately 13,340 nonprofits registered with the state Department of Consumer Protection may be impacted by FASB’s proposed changes to financial reporting. In April, they announced the proposal to change the following items: Income Statement Rule: Requires entities to report net income or loss from operating activities, separate from non-operating activities. Impact: Clearly shows income and …
A few weeks ago the IRS Tax Exempt & Government Entities Commissioner released a Workplan Briefing for the Government’s fiscal year 2016. She listed five strategic issue areas, below, in which they will focus resources in the next year. Exemption: issues include non-exempt purpose activity and private inurement Protection of Assets: issues include self-dealing, excess …
It should be no surprise that the use of cell phones has increased. While it has been the source of a lot of talk over the years, it appears we’re finally at a tipping point. Emarketer created a chart to show the shift in search volume in the U.S. since 2011. Their results concluded that …
Determining whether an organization conducts joint activities and properly accounts for these activities can be challenging at times, as it can be subjective depending on the fundraising activity. In our experience, we have encountered not-for-profit organizations with joint activities that could partially be divided into separate expense categories. Not-for-profits have three categories to allocate expenses …
Many companies reserve a small amount of cash in a petty cash fund to cover minute, miscellaneous expenses. The petty cash fund is typically replenished at month end or when the balance drops to a pre-determined level, i.e. $50. The organization should select one employee to be responsible for the petty cash fund. This person …