The Charity CFO

MAY 12, 2025

When youre running a nonprofit, its tempting to think of accounting as something you can get by withmaybe its a part-time admin, a volunteer with QuickBooks experience, or a reactive scramble at tax time. But heres the truth: If your organization doesnt have a skilled accounting team, you dont just have a bookkeeping problem.

Nonprofit

Barry Ritholtz

APRIL 29, 2025

And, and I saw that the, what were in those days, the big eight accounting firms were coming up to hire and they had this program where they would hire liberal arts graduates, have them work, and as part of the arrangement would pay for you to go to grad school. So it was a combined program through Arthur Anderson to go to NYU.

Concentration

The Charity CFO

AUGUST 3, 2025

Restricted grants for nonprofits can fuel impact—or strain cash flow. Learn when they help, hurt, and how to release funds wisely. The post Restricted Grants: How They Help, How They Hurt, and How to Release Them Strategically appeared first on The Charity CFO.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JULY 1, 2025

Discover why your nonprofit budget isn’t enough. Learn how forecasting gives leaders the financial clarity. The post Why You Shouldn’t Be Giving Up on Federal Grants appeared first on The Charity CFO.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JULY 8, 2025

"Most nonprofits don’t have a branding problem—they have a clarity problem." Discover how refining your verbal identity can transform your nonprofit's outreach and engagement. The post Branding Beyond the Logo: What Nonprofits Must Know appeared first on The Charity CFO.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

APRIL 29, 2022

Many nonprofit organizations both large and small need to undergo a financial statement audit every year. Preparing for a nonprofit audit can be overwhelming and anxiety-filled, especially if it’s your first audit or you don’t have a strong and experienced financial team. What is a financial statement audit?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

DECEMBER 30, 2021

Contrary to what many people envision, a nonprofit audit doesn’t usually start with a letter from the IRS. Instead, an independent nonprofit audit is something you choose to build trust in your nonprofit organization. So it’s not always a wise investment for some smaller nonprofits. .

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MARCH 31, 2023

The word audit can invoke instant fear and dread. Whether it’s an IRS audit, external audit, or even an internal audit, the process can feel burdensome and worrying. Contrary to popular belief, most audits are not conducted to detect a problem. Should My Nonprofit Obtain an Independent Audit?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

APRIL 5, 2022

If you’re like many people, you probably think that there is a single set of accounting rules that every company must follow. . But that’s not quite true—nonprofits face a decision between 2 different accounting methods for tracking their financial activity: cash accounting vs. accrual accounting.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 21, 2022

Nonprofits often receive donations or grants designated for a specific purpose–like a donation to a specific program or grant you have to spend within a calendar year. And the issue of restricted funds presents unique bookkeeping and accounting challenges for a nonprofit that a for-profit company doesn’t face.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MAY 6, 2022

According to The Nonprofit Times, almost 80% of all nonprofit revenue comes from the US government in the form of federal grant funding or fees for services. The UCG is too extensive to explain here, but these are a few requirements you should consider: You must have an accounting system in place.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 17, 2022

If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you’re not researching nonprofit accounting basics to satisfy your curiosity. with this overview of nonprofit accounting basics. . What is nonprofit accounting? That’s really all that accounting is, so don’t let the terminology intimidate you. .

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JULY 28, 2022

Updated standards on accounting for nonprofit leases ( ASC 842 ) go into effect this year for most organizations–and next year for the few remaining exceptions. We’ll tell you all you need to know about complying with these new rules when accounting for leases of all types. What is ASC 842 for nonprofit lease accounting?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MAY 18, 2022

Financial oversight is one of the primary roles of your nonprofit board of directors. . Every nonprofit is required to have a board of directors. And they create a lot of confusion for people new to the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are fundamentally different from other businesses. What is Financial Oversight?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 13, 2022

In-kind donations help your nonprofit get the resources you need to carry out your programs without asking for more cash. But accounting for in-kind donations presents its own unique challenges. In this article, we’ll dig into how to account for in-kind donations on your nonprofit’s books. Submit to an annual audit.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MAY 31, 2022

It’s a myth that all stakeholders need to be experts in every aspect of nonprofit finances. Even on nonprofit financial committees, some members may be skilled in accounting, others in banking, and others in investing or financial analysis. Because the basics of nonprofit finances are easy to grasp. . For instance….

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

Do a Google search on nonprofit bookkeeping, and you’ll find page after page of articles on nonprofit accounting. Because while nonprofit bookkeeping and accounting are related, they’re not the same thing. A bookkeeper records and organizes financial data; an accountant interprets and presents that data. .

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 31, 2022

The Statement of Activities is the Income Statement of a nonprofit organization. As a nonprofit, you call the difference between revenue and expenses the change in net assets. . NOTE: For a nonprofit organization, revenue also includes non-cash gifts, like in-kind donations of goods or services. Or profit. .

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JULY 10, 2022

Are your nonprofit board committees contributing to the effectiveness of your work or simply checking off the boxes someone gave you when your organization was set up years ago? Nonprofit board committees can have an outsized and positive impact on your organization’s overall mission. Traditional Nonprofit Board Committees.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Every tax exempt nonprofit must file IRS Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax) every year. That’s right, your nonprofit needs to file an IRS return. In fact, as a nonprofit organization, the expectations for transparency and accountability are higher than those for for-profit businesses.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 25, 2022

The Statement of Financial Position is the Balance Sheet of a nonprofit organization. It gives you a snapshot of a nonprofit’s financial health at a point in time by displaying what the organization owns (assets), what it owes to others (liabilities), and its value (net assets). And it’s a requirement for a nonprofit audit.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MARCH 24, 2022

Nonprofit fraud makes for great headlines— like the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future accused this year of squandering $48 million of federal funding on luxurious trips, fancy mansions, and other personal costs. . According to The New York Times , the value of nonprofit fraud is approximately $40-50 Billion each year.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Nonprofits exist to meet a societal need or provide a public benefit. Unlike an organization whose primary goal is to make money, nonprofits exist to meet a community’s needs. That said, while it’s not your primary purpose, your nonprofit must find ways to make money. . How do nonprofits make money?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

APRIL 19, 2022

As a CPA working exclusively with nonprofits and a former nonprofit auditor, I’ve looked at thousands of nonprofit financial statements over the past 10 years. Over the years, I’ve identified a set of 5 nonprofit financial red flags that are fairly common and almost always lead to trouble sooner or later.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 5, 2022

Functional expense reporting confuses many first-time nonprofit bookkeepers and executives. But it is need-to-know-information in the nonprofit world. Because you’re required to report functional expenses to complete your IRS 990 and maintain nonprofit status. Don't hire the wrong accountant for your nonprofit!

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

OCTOBER 4, 2022

million nonprofits globally. To ensure that a nonprofit runs efficiently, several people work behind the scenes to make things much easier, and one of those people is the operations manager. The operations manager might be the secret weapon of the most successful nonprofits we know. There are more than 1.54

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

If you know only one thing about 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations , you probably know that they don’t pay federal taxes on their income. . So how do you know if your nonprofit organization has taxable unrelated business income? Not Sure If Your Nonprofit Income Is Taxable Or Not? But what if I told you that’s not always true?

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MARCH 16, 2022

Today we’re proud to announce another amazing addition to the industry’s best nonprofit accounting team! Theresa Guest is joining The Charity CFO team in the role of Accounting Manager. Don't hire the wrong accountant for your nonprofit! We couldn’t be happier to welcome Theresa to our team!

CFO

The Charity CFO

JULY 13, 2022

This article will summarize the principal criteria the top 3 charity watchdogs use to evaluate your nonprofit organization. Charity Watchdogs is a term used to describe various organizations attempting to measure the quality of a nonprofit organization. They’ve been providing ratings for nonprofits in some form since the 1920s.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

AUGUST 31, 2022

In this episode, Tosha will walk you through the most common misconceptions about nonprofit audits to let you know exactly what you can expect (and NOT expect) from a nonprofit audit before you commit. Audits scare the daylights out of nonprofit founders. Don't hire the wrong accountant for your nonprofit!

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

MAY 10, 2022

If your nonprofit uses donations of supplies, services, and even time to help fund your operations, you need to know about recent changes in accounting standards for in kind donations. Typically, a CPA would prepare these statements as part of a yearly review or audit. What exactly is changing about in kind donation reporting?

Accounting Standards

The Charity CFO

AUGUST 23, 2024

Download the Article For nonprofits, audits are more than just a regulatory requirement–they’re a tool for safeguarding the organization’s mission and financial health. An audit helps improve an organization’s financial transparency, builds donor trust, and ensures compliance with regulations. Pre-Audit Prep 1.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Does the idea of an audit from the IRS leave you with sweaty palms? Most nonprofit leaders aren’t accountants and the thought of getting audited is a sizable fear. Luckily, being prepared can help you avoid accounting mistakes that could come up in a nonprofit audit.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

What should you look for when evaluating nonprofit accounting services? Nonprofit organizations exist to further a mission or goal. The truth is, many nonprofits tend to fumble when it comes to their books. . Benefits of Nonprofit Accounting Services. Saves time and money. Saving time often saves money, too.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

JANUARY 19, 2023

Accounting standards for nonprofits are probably not the first thing you think about, but are crucial for your organization to succeed. Nonprofit organizations distinguish themselves from for-profit entities through their purpose and mission.

Accounting Standards

The Charity CFO

APRIL 28, 2023

Is there an advantage to working with accounting firms specializing in nonprofits? Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in addressing social, environmental, and cultural issues in our society. When setting up your fund accounting system, you must ensure that it meets the unique needs of your organization.

Nonprofit

The Charity CFO

AUGUST 15, 2023

The nonprofit sector is full of rewarding and impactful careers because it plays a crucial role in addressing various social, environmental, and humanitarian challenges. In this section, we will debunk the three most common nonprofit accounting myths. However, most of it is actually the same.

Nonprofit