Nonprofit Accounting Basics

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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.

Top Ten Items to Review at Year-End

Your year-end review and audit preparation should include these items among others depending on your organizations form, accounts and transactions.

Ratios: Profit Margin (Surplus Margin)

This calculation indicates by what percent revenues are over or under expenses.

Program Costs to Earned Revenue Ratio

This ratio calculates the portion of program expenses that is covered by related program revenue.

Net Investment in Fixed Assets

This calculation subtracts any existing long-term debt related to fixed assets (e.g., vehicle loan, mortgage, leasehold improvement loan, etc.) from the value of fixed assets.

Ratio: Months Cash on Hand

This ratio tells you whether the organization has sufficient cash resources to deliver its mission and pay its obligations on a timely basis. How long could the bills be paid with no new cash?

Ratios: Net Working Capital

This indicator is another liquidity measure that expands to include all current (within 12 months) assets such as receivables and inventory.

Ratios: Current Ratio

This ratio tells you how many times current (within 12 months) assets could cover current liabilities. A value of 1 or better indicates that current liabilities could be covered by current assets.

Operating Reserve Ratio

This ratio is a focused variant of the Months Cash on Hand ratio.

Public Support Tests: Does Your Public Charity Pass the Section 509(a)(1) Test?

To be a public charity, an organization must meet one of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 509(a) tests.