The New England Not-For-Profit Accounting Advisor

Repercussions from the COVID-19 virus affect almost every facet of your not-for-profit’s operations, from the delivery of your services to managing your workforce. Many cultural organizations and educational institutions must grapple with the public health safety measures that may have temporarily shuttered their operations. Protecting your employees and staff from contracting the highly contagious COVID-19 virus may be resulting in new policies around meetings, and remote work arrangements. To help protect your staff still on the premises, you may be called to increase the frequency and scope of your cleaning services.

Topics: accounting, Non-profits, NFP, Mike Burns, COVID19, Coronavirus, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, COVID-19

By Allan Kose, CPA and David Miller, CPA

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently released a proposed accounting standard update that would affect how not-for-profit organizations account for their nonfinancial assets. Not-for-profit organizations would present contributed nonfinancial assets as a separate line item from contributions of cash or financial assets in their statement of activities.

Topics: not-for-profit, Audit Committee, NFP, Allan Klose, David Miller

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, signed into law on Dec. 20, 2019 by President Trump, is the most expansive piece of retirement legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the law will have some impact on nearly every retirement plan and participants with numerous provisions intended to increase retirement security, expand plan coverage, encourage retirement savings and decrease plan costs. It offers small businesses tax incentives to set up automatic enrollment in retirement plans for its workers, or allows them to join multiple employer plans, where they can band together with other companies to offer retirement accounts to their employees in the first place.

Topics: not-for-profit, 403(b), NFP, the SECURE Act, retirement planning

No one wants to be surprised by a risk that suddenly becomes a reality. The risk landscape is constantly changing for not-for-profit organizations, so we set out to learn more about hot topics in risk management to help guide your 2020 risk planning.

Topics: not-for-profit, NFP, risk, risk management, Not-For-Profit Risk Management, risk mitigation

With only a few months left, the countdown to the mandatory 403(b) plan document restatement deadline is officially underway. All organizations that sponsor 403(b) retirement plans must restate their plan documents by March 31, 2020, using either the IRS’s pre-approved document or an individually designed plan document.

Topics: not-for-profit, IRS, 403(b), NFP, 403(b) Plan Document Restatement

Complex standards and organizations’ implementation efforts related to those standards will continue to dominate the accounting conversations for not-for-profits throughout the year. Organizations that follow a fiscal year-end should now be putting the finishing touches on their revenue recognition and contribution accounting adoption efforts. Not-for-profits that follow a calendar year-end will soon be tackling the leasing standard. Below is a preview of what organizations can expect from their 2020 accounting.

Topics: Revenue Recognition Standard, not-for-profit, Mark Winiarski, Revenue recognition, Lease Standards, leasing standard, revenue recognition for nonprofits, ASC Topic 606

An appropriations bill passed on December 20 contains a gift for not-for-profit organizations. The so-called Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (FCAA) provides a long-awaited solution for not-for-profits that provide certain transportation and parking benefits to their employees. It also contains retirement plan benefits and reinstates other expired tax incentives (the so-called “Extenders”).

Topics: Tax incentive, Craig Klein, Taxes, Congress, Tax Reform, not-for-profit tax, TCJA, parking tax

Talking about the changes to revenue recognition and contribution accounting is one thing, but implementing it can be another chore entirely for not-for-profit organizations.

Changes in ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers move accounting for certain types of revenue from a rules-based to a principles-based approach. But organizations will also have to walk through a contribution decision-making tree to determine whether their particular transaction qualifies as a contribution subject to the updates to ASC Topic 958, Not-for-Profit Entities or if the transaction will follow the revenue recognition guidance.

Topics: Not-for-Profits, NFP, Revenue recognition, ASC Topic 606, Holly Perez

Directors and Officers (D&O) coverage plays a vital role in an organization’s risk mitigation strategy, but for some not-for-profits, the insurance coverage may go under the radar. Executive leaders and board members should understand the basics of D&O coverage so they can carry out your fiduciary duties, as well as protect personal and organizational assets. The following provides a primer for what a not-for-profit’s C suite and board should know.

Topics: Non-profits, Not-for-Profits, NFP, D&O Insurance, Raul Socha, Directors & Officers Insurance, D&O Coverage

It is not possible for not-for-profit organizations and higher education institutions to prepare for all the risks they could face in the coming year. At some point, you have to make decisions about which risks have the highest chance of occurring or would have the highest monetary or operational impact if the risks happened.

Topics: not-for-profit, NFP, risk, risk management, Not-For-Profit Risk Management, risk mitigation