NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
We can help you setup and maintain your non-profit organization’s tax-exempt status by handling all the IRS reporting for you.
Each year the IRS requires most tax-exempt organizations to submit the Form 990 and its relations, The IRS uses these very specific revenue and expense classifications to determine if your organization will retain its tax-exempt status. So it’s imperative that you build your accounting system around these revenue and expense classifications.
Customize your chart of accounts
Precise and easy to read data fosters better decision-making. While your non-profit accounting process approaches your finances from the viewpoint of fiscal accountability, it is just as essential to consider revenue and profitability to reinvest in your organization’s future. A chart of accounts that is easy to use and understand is necessary to achieve a customized understanding of your organization’s financial performance and position.
A nonprofit’s chart of accounts is the framework for storing all your financial information and transactions, affecting the duties of your finance’s team’s duties from daily data entry to year-end reporting.
We customize your chart of accounts to provide you the key information needed for future planning and external donors the clarity needed to maintain confidence in your nonprofits stewardship.
Nonprofit accounting best practices
By nature, non-profit accounting and financial reporting has different requirements than those of for-profit organizations. Furthermore, different goals mean different financial presentation structures between for profit and nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit accounting has nuances that do not exist in every facet of for-profit accounting.
Our firm provides accounting best practices for your non-profit to ensure your organization meets the necessary reporting requirements, such as the proper classification of your assets.
Customize the way your financial information is presented
Your non-profit has multiple stakeholders, including executives, your finance committee, grantors, donors, and a board of directors. Each requires clear and well-presented financial reports to meet their specific needs.
Meeting the rigid reporting requirements facing your non-profit requires report customization from experienced nonprofit accountants. We understand the needs of every stakeholder and customize your report structures to match accordingly.
Process/internal control improvements
Standardized processes ensure efficient workflows, consistency, and continuity. Even when personnel changes occur, there shouldn’t be a change in your accounting structure or processes due to new team members reinterpreting your institutional knowledge.
Internal Controls protect your non-profit from fraud, improve efficiency, prevent errors, and help meet compliance needs. They are essential to every nonprofits finance department.
We establish processes and controls, integrating non-profit best practices, that best suit your organization.
Remain compliant with your tax and reporting requirements
Once the IRS and Secretary of State approve your organization’s charitable status, you are officially tax-exempt and subject to specific reporting requirements. Meeting those requirements is essential to maintaining your charitable status.
The IRS requires all nonprofit organizations to complete the Form 990, while states each have unique compliance requirements. Meeting both the state and federal reporting requirements ensures your organization remains compliant and inspires a higher degree of confidence with your donors and stakeholders. Goldin Group’s experience ensures your organization’s financial information can be easily integrated into the IRS Form 990.
Prepare your financial statements
Your non-profit serves others in need and provides a public benefit. Complete and accurate financial statements are one of the best tools for internal planning and maintaining the confidence of your donors and stakeholders. Our CPAs customize your financial statements to match your organization’s activities while ensuring a clean audit is achieved.
We take the time to understand your organization and its unique structure and prepare your financial statements for internal planning and external reporting.
Analyze and explain your organization’s financial position
Your focus is on carrying out your organization’s mission and maintaining the confidence of the public, not being a financial expert. Having experts that understand your financial position helps provide you with one of the most useful tools to run your organization. A CPA firm who specializes in nonprofit accounting sets you up for success and helps create the platform for the expansion of your nonprofit’s mission, programs, and funding.
Your specialized CFO ensures you understand and are up to date with your nonprofit’s financial position, empowering you with the knowledge to make the best strategic decisions.
CASE STUDY
Our Challenge
A non-profit organization focused on environment protection had the dual challenge of bringing sufficient funding to support the organization’s operations and reverse a trend that resulted in a substantial deficit at year end.
Our analysis revealed that the Organization did not have the information necessary both to make timely decisions nor reliable information to act on. In short it could not take the preventive measures necessary to avoid spending cash it did not have, nor could it attack the problem because it wasn’t sure what to correct.
We suggested restructuring the organization’s financial infrastructure from budget execution, to time allocation, to execution approval and revamping its accounting software with a more robust product. The first step is to have a system that allowed for execution of each grant and project to understand how much secured versus unsecured funding was available. No commitments were made against unsecured funding unless there was management approval. Utilizing the right infrastructure tools, we could work closely with the management team to monitor the organization’s financial performance on a timely basis. Both graphic and numeric monthly reports were delivered to the Finance Committee and Board along with process improvement suggestions. For example we noticed that the issuance of invoices was always late and were able to prioritize this area.
Compared with the first year financial performance, this Organization made a huge turnaround turning a deficit into a small positive number in year two and a larger positive number the following year. The turnaround did not come without hard decisions and pain. Still this Organization (with the same budget) has a healthy and sustainable financial model that gives the organization more flexibility to focus on improving the mission-driven programs.
CONTACT US
Please contact us with any questions.
Call, email, fax, or use the contact form!
Office: 4641 MONTGOMERY AVE #300. BETHESDA, MD 20814
Phone: (301) 913-0008
Fax: (240) 744-7176
Email: info@goldingroup.biz