In December of 2008, the IRS released what has been coined as the “New Form 990.” The driving forces behind the revised form included pressure on the IRS from Congress to closely monitor tax-exempt organizations and the need to publicly disclose more information about nonprofits’ financial stability to the variety of users who access the document. The IRS’ guiding principles behind developing the new form were to enhance transparency, promote compliance and minimize the burden on filing organizations. On numerous occasions the IRS released statements indicating that the new version of the Form 990 was meant to augment governance practices, increase tax law compliance, and further support nonprofits as they work to fulfill their mission and charitable purpose. However, many nonprofits and their executives still struggle with some of the nuances that are at play in the Form 990.
Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing on Higher Ed Tax Compliance
On May 8, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight heard testimony from the IRS’s Director of the Exempt Organizations Division, Lois Lerner, regarding the agency’s recently released Final Report on the College and University Compliance Program (CUCP). What follows is a brief overview of the hearing. Continue reading
Tax Reform Working Groups Report on Charitable Deduction and Exempt Organization Issues
In a move towards increased transparency and a belief that more is better, House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus launched a website to gather additional input from the public on overhauling the tax code. Continue reading
Lessons Learned on the Higher Education Conference Circuit
It’s been a few weeks since the BDO Higher Education practice returned from the 2013 SACUBO Annual Meeting in Atlanta. About a month earlier, a number of us gathered in Boston for the EACUBO Annual Workshop.
At each of these gatherings, we have had the pleasure of meeting higher education professionals from across the United States; we have exchanged ideas about how best to address the myriad challenges—like declining enrollment, skyrocketing tuition, heightened financial scrutiny and scarce public funding—that institutions are grappling with each and every day; and we have explored some of the hottest trends in public education and the technologies and innovative ideas driving them. Continue reading
To Build, or Not to Build? The Importance of Creating an Effective Audit Committee
Today’s nonprofit and tax-exempt environment is continuously changing with updates to Forms 990, increased scrutiny of financial policies, possible changes to reporting standards, and charitable deduction debates – just to name a few.
However, in light of the pressures that are mounting in the sector, nonprofits are doing what they can to mitigate risks that could come out of these trying times. One way organizations are bracing themselves for change is by focusing more on their audit committees. While audit committees can appear as a mere formality dictated by reporting bodies, an effective committee can be of significant help to boards of directors.
How Healthy Is Your Hospital’s Tax-Exempt Status?
Scrutiny of tax-exempt hospitals continues to increase, and with that, new regulations have been proposed to marry the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with requirements mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Survey: Which Issues Are Nonprofit Professionals Most Concerned About?
Which issues are keeping you and your colleagues up at night? Take our first online survey and let us know which nonprofit matters you are most concerned about going into the second quarter of 2013. We’ll compile the results and offer our thoughts on the most common issues in a subsequent Nonprofit Standard blog post.
A Survey of the Charitable Donation Deduction: Past, Present and Future
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been floating all sorts of ideas these days to fix our ailing economy. Some have been tried before, with limited success. Others have grown increasingly complex and confusing. And a handful are unlikely to make much difference at all.
Investigative Due Diligence for Nonprofit Organizations
A quick search for “nonprofit due diligence” brings up thousands of articles offering donors tips for evaluating the charities they choose to give their funds. But if you are a nonprofit leader or board member, you’d be hard-pressed to find clear cut direction for keeping your own house in order.
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