Form 990 Challenges: Navigating 2014 Changes to the Non-Profit Information Return and Schedules

Outline

1. Return issues arising from Form 990 changes
   1. Schedule F on foreign activities
   2. Part X balance sheet on reporting investments
   3. Schedule D, Part II on conservation easements
   4. Part VIII on statement of revenue
   5. Reporting compensation
   6. Other aspects
2. Ongoing issues with preparing Form 990
   1. Reporting proportionate interest in JV or partnership
   2. Public support
   3. Fiscal and calendar year compensation reporting
   4. Determining contribution portion of fundraising event revenue
   5. Other aspects
3. Understand how revenue and expense are required to be reported in conjunction with the organization’s program descriptions
4. Increase your awareness of additional filings that may be required for your exempt organization clients
5. Completion of this governance section doesn’t stop at answering Yes or No. Learn about what is required to be disclosed in Schedule O regarding such answers and what looks good, bad, or merely insufficient.
6. Understand who (in addition to the board of directors) must be reported here. Who is considered to be a top management official, key employee, highest compensated employee, etc?
7. Decipher the reporting of revenue by category and function. What does it mean to be related or excluded? How is the receipt of noncash items reflected?
8. Special Events — Take a deeper dive into reporting the revenue from special events – this is a commonly misunderstood and misprepared line
9. How are functional expenses calculated? Especially for clients that don’t have audited financial statements, understanding how expenses are properly allocated is critical

• Schedule A - A brief overview of the public support tests and the new changes for supporting organizations
• Schedule D – This “hodgepodge” schedule contains a couple of often overlooked disclosure requirements – Escrow and custodial arrangements and the FIN 48 footnote
• Schedule F – Reporting on foreign activities whether they are program-related or investments continue to be challenging. Learn some tips to make navigating this schedule easier
• Schedule L – Clarify who meets the definition of interested person and when transactions must be reported (multiple thresholds apply)

Benefits

The panel will tackle these and other key topics:

• Adjusting to changes in reporting as compared with the former and revised Form 990 and final regs
• Applying experiences from Form 990 compliance in prior years
• Learning best practices to apply to all Form 990 clients