Accounting Policy & Practice Series

Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organizations

 

Portfolio Description

Portfolio 5200, Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organizations (Accounting Policy and Practice Series), analyzes the accounting and reporting requirements for most nongovernmental not-for-profit organizations. More specifically, this Portfolio comprehensively surveys generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as they relate and apply to not-for-profit organizations.

Accounting and disclosure requirements for not-for-profit organizations differ significantly from those of for-profit organizations. Not-for-profit organizations do not utilize equity ownership interests, receive a significant portion of their revenues from donors, and have different motives for existence than their for-profit counterparts. This Portfolio describes the accounting rules and reporting requirements that have been established specifically for not-for-profit organizations in Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Statement No. 116, Accounting for Contributions Received and Contributions Made, and FASB Statement No. 117, Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organizations. Those pronouncements require net assets of not-for-profit organizations to be classified as unrestricted, temporarily restricted, or permanently restricted, in accordance with the donor's intent.

This Portfolio discusses in depth a number of accounting and disclosure issues unique to not-for-profit organizations including revenues and receivables from contributions, agency transactions, and split-interest agreements. In addition, this Portfolio discusses the accounting and disclosure issues related to collections of art, historical treasures, and other similar assets.

Finally, this Portfolio describes the basic financial statements for not-for-profit organizations, including: the statement of financial position, statement of activities, and statement of cash flows. The disclosure requirements for each of these statements and other footnote disclosures are also discussed herein.

This Portfolio may be cited as BNA Tax and Accounting Portfolio 5200, Daher and Daher, Accounting for Not-for-Profit Organizations (Accounting Policy and Practice Series).

Note: Various FASB documents, copyright by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, 401 Merritt 7, P.O. Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116, U.S.A., are reprinted with permission.

Dominic L. Daher, Director of Internal Audit and Tax Compliance at the University of San Francisco. Mr. Daher is a graduate of New York University School of Law (Master of Laws in Taxation); Washington University School of Law (Juris Doctor); and the University of Missouri-Columbia (Master and Bachelor of Accountancy). Mr. Daher writes for various scholarly and professional journals, and he serves on editorial advisory boards for numerous professional publications. Mr. Daher also has the pleasure of serving as an adjunct member of the faculty at the University of San Francisco in its School of Business and Management where he teaches a variety of accounting courses and in May 2005 garnered the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award.

Stacy E. Daher, Assistant Treasurer at the University of San Francisco. In her role as Assistant Treasurer, Ms. Daher is responsible for the management of the University's endowment investments, cash management, and debt issuance. Ms. Daher was formerly a Senior Associate with the international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Daher is a graduate of Saint Louis University (Master of Accountancy) and the University of Missouri-Columbia (Bachelor of Music). Ms. Daher is also an adjunct member of the faculty at the University of San Francisco School of Business and Management.