LEADING THE NONPROFIT: THE NEW LOOK 990 By Charles Bogguess, CPA

Many nonprofits are beginning to review their 990 tax returns and noticing changes. The IRS has redesigned the informational form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax). For tax years beginning in 2008, they have included many new disclosure requirements designed to enhance transparency. The intent of the IRS is to give the public (including your corporate partners) the necessary tools to determine if their contributions are being used wisely. In this way the IRS is trying to facilitate market forces to weed out organizations that manage their assets poorly and bring change to the nonprofit sector.

In the past, the form 990 was required only of larger organizations. Prior to tax year 2007, nonprofit organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or less were not required to file IRS forms. No more! Now, although abbreviated forms, 990-EZ and 990-N are available for smaller organizations, all nonprofits except religious, governmental, or political organizations must submit one of these informational returns. The income thresholds that determine which form is appropriate changed and will continue to change over the next two years. The objective of the changes is to provide a transition period for all organizations to adjust to the increased information requirements.

Tax Year Average Gross Receipts Total Assets Form Required

2008 $1,000,000 or more 25,001 – 999,999 25,000 or less

or > $2,500,000and less than $2,500,000

990990-EZ990-N

2009 > $ 500,000 25,001 – 499,999 25,000 or less

or > $1,250,000and less than $1,250,000

990990-EZ990-N

2010 > $ 200,000 50,001 – 199,999 50,000 or less

or > $ 500,000and less than $ 500,000

990990-EZ990-N

.The new 990 Form has grown to 11 pages, two more than in previous years. It also includes 16 accompanying schedules, many of them new. Some of the new questions are simply informational. However, other questions can trigger punitive actions by the IRS either against the organization or against the management or board members.

A number of the new questions are designed to support greater scrutiny on compensation. Since most organizations are led by volunteers and are without paid staff, many of these sections will not be pertinent. However, if your officers do receive compensation, know that the arrangements must be approved by the board or compensation committee and that they are expected to use a method to establish that the compensation package is reasonable and comparable to similar positions elsewhere.

Another schedule that merits attention is Schedule G (Supplemental Information Regarding Fundraising or Gaming Activities). This schedule asks for detail of events and fundraising events that generate $5,000.00 or more in gross receipts. The organization should review its system of bookkeeping to confirm that records of revenue and expenses for activities that meets this threshold are segregated throughout the year so they can be properly

reported. Beyond the requirements of the tax returns, this information is part of good organization management, The recap of activity revenue and expenses can be one of the key metrics by which the success of organization initiatives are measured. If a program brings recurrent losses, perhaps the organization may want to discuss objectives and/or if corrective actions are warranted.

Part III of the Form 990 (Statement of Program Service Accomplishments) asks the organization to describe its exempt purpose achievements over the year from the three most expensive services. This provides the organization another opportunity to tell its donors what a great job it is doing and how it is affecting the stakeholders.

The form also explicitly inquires about the organizations conflict of interest policies. Part VI of the form, Governance, Management, and Disclosure, is a dramatic addition to the Form 990 because it focuses on the board: whether it is independent and information about how it provides oversight. It asks for specific information such as whether the board reviews the Form 990 before it is filed. Tax professionals that serve nonprofit organizations are encouraging their client boards to review the forms and record approval of returns in the meeting minutes. This section also asks if there is a written conflict-of-interest policy that requires annual disclosure of conflicts. The organization must also disclose how the policy is monitored and enforced. Many times, collecting signed conflict of interest statements from organization officers is easily overlooked. If that is the case for your organization, rectify it now. It is a simple process to require officers to attest to compliance with conflict of interest policies annually. It also asks if the organization has a written whistleblower policy and a written document retention and destruction policy.

Nonprofit organizations with calendar year-end must file the Form 990 by May 15. Any returns filed after the due date must include a statement explaining the late filing. If necessary an automatic extension up to six months can be obtained with reasonable cause. Failure to file timely can result in hefty penalties. A penalty of $20 a day not to exceed the smaller of $10,000 or 5% of the organization’s gross receipts may be assessed. An organization that fails to file its 990 return for three consecutive years will have its tax-exempt status terminated.

.The 990 returns must be complete, accurate and signed by an authorized officer of the organization. Further, if the IRS requests missing or corrected information, and does not receive responses within a specified period, the IRS may also assess penalties against the officer personally in the amount of $10 per day up to $5,000. The form must also contain a telephone number that the public can contact during normal business hours to get additional information. If requested, the organization must fulfill any request for a copy of the 990 return or make it widely available through the organization website. Records related to information on the return must be retained a minimum of three years. Remember the tax forms are all publicly available directly from the organization or online at: www.guidestar.org. Increasingly donors can be expected to reference this information when deciding to invest in your organization. So take this opportunity to meet the IRS filing requirements and demonstrate your professionalism and the professionalism of your organization and its members.