Accounting and tax for nonprofits
Nonprofit reporting needs to explain the resources available, the commitments ahead and the activity behind the numbers. We provide accounting and tax work for management and the board.
Understand what is available to spend
A healthy bank balance can coexist with limited room for general operating spending. The financial picture needs to distinguish resources available for current needs from amounts committed to particular purposes, and show when receipts and operating payments are expected.
We reconcile the records and account for the grant, contribution, payroll and other activity included in the engagement. The reporting should help management understand the organization’s position rather than leave the board to infer it from a single cash balance.
A larger grant, a narrower spending choice
Suppose an organization receives a grant whose terms restrict it to a future program and do not permit its use for current general rent or payroll. The deposit increases cash, but it does not fund those current operating payments.
A useful report separates that grant from the resources available for current operations and shows the relevant commitments. Management and the board can then discuss spending with a clearer understanding of which funds support which work.
Give the board an explanation, not just a packet
We agree the financial statements and supporting reports needed by management and the board. Significant changes, funding activity and unresolved accounting questions should be visible enough to discuss without rebuilding the numbers during the meeting.
The reporting requirements of funders can also be considered in the engagement. We work with staff to identify the records needed and how they relate to the organization’s accounts; management and the board retain their decisions.
Connect the accounts with filings and the audit
Tax work can include Form 990 and its related schedules, Form 990-T where applicable, and the federal or state filings identified in the engagement. Current, reconciled records provide the starting point for that work.
Where the organization engages an independent audit firm, we can prepare supporting schedules and coordinate accounting responses. Hickok Tax Advisory does not provide audits, reviews or other attest services.
Begin with the work the organization needs
We can discuss a focused accounting cleanup, return preparation or recurring accounting and reporting alongside existing staff. Initial cleanup and continuing work are scoped separately so the organization knows what it is engaging us to do.
A private foundation can also need its own accounting and reporting. A donor’s separate question about making a gift belongs with our charitable-giving work.