Nonprofit Accounting Basics

Governance Review of the Form 990

Form 990, Part VI, Line 11 relates to the organization’s process for filing the Form 990 prior to the form being filed with the IRS. Line 11 includes two parts.

First, the question asks whether the Form 990 was provided to the organization’s governing body before it was filed. This question should only be answered yes if the full form, including required schedules, was provided to each voting member of the governing body prior to its being filed with the IRS. This can be accomplished by sending a copy to each member by email prior to filing.

If the form is subject to a review process by the governing body, board committee members or management, regardless of when the return is filed, additional details are requested. A description of the process by which the review took place should be detailed in Form 990, Schedule O, including the specifics of who conducted the review and the extent of the review.

If there is no review process, the organization must state “No review was conducted.”