Form 990 Filing Tips: Updated FAQs Available About Attachments

The IRS has received a number of questions about the use of attachments when filing Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.

To address some of these questions, the IRS has updated a series of “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) concerning the redesigned Form 990.

 The recently updated FAQs are available on the IRS Web site:http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=211430,00.html

 For more information, contact Kathy Cuddapah, Aronson & Company’s Nonprofit Practice, at (301) 222-8206 or kcuddapah@aronsoncompany.com

An Important Announcement from ASAE

On Tuesday, ASAE informed you about two amendments to the Senate Finance Committee health care bill that were filed by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA).  You can review the content of these amendments here, but in brief they would (1) give the IRS statutory authority to require tax-exempt organizations to report governance and management information and (2) give the IRS expanded authority to challenge executive compensation.

At this point, the amendments are still scheduled to be considered, but all associations need to take immediate action on these issues.  ASAE asks that you share our letter from ASAE President & CEO John Graham plus your own note of opposition to the Grassley amendments with your Senators today by either:

• Sending your Senators’ offices an email with this link (www.asaecenter.org/Grassleyamendments) to the ASAE letter and your own comments in the text of the email.
• Printing a text version of the letter (click here for copy) and faxing it with comments to your Senators’ offices.

Contact information for all Senate offices can be found at the ASAE action site here.

The expedited timeline for committee consideration of this bill and amendments requires that we act immediately; ASAE has heard that the amendments could receive a vote as early as the end of the week.  If associations do not make their voice heard on this issue now, we risk allowing this language to become law without proper consideration and debate.

If one of your Senators is a member of the Finance Committee or you have good contacts in the committee, it is critically important that you contact them immediately to express your opposition to these amendments.  If you have any questions about who is on the committee, visit the committee site or contact the ASAE Public Policy Department.

If you have any questions, please call (202) 626-2703 or email publicpolicy@asaenet.org.  Please take a moment to reach out to your Senator and voice your opposition to these amendments.

Press Release – Trustees welcome Monitoring Board statement on accounting standards

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), welcomed today’s statement by the Monitoring Board, a group of public capital market authorities to whom the IASC Foundation established a public accountability link.  In its statement of principles, the Monitoring Board emphasised the relevance of providing high-quality financial information to ensure the confidence of capital providers in making investment decisions.  The Monitoring Board also highlighted the importance of ‘independence and transparency in the standard setter’s due process.’ (The full Monitoring Board statement can be found on the IOSCO website).

The Trustees recently wrote to the G20 leaders, who are meeting later this week in Pittsburgh, to emphasise ‘the Trustees and the IASB are committed to taking all of the actions necessary within their sphere of responsibility to deal with the issues arising from the financial crisis.’  The Trustees believe that the fundamental principles outlined by the Monitoring Board provide an important contribution in reminding the Trustees, the IASB, and stakeholders of the important role that accounting standards play in the functioning of capital markets and the economy at large.  (The IASC Foundation’s letter to the G20 leaders can be found by clicking here).

Commenting on the Monitoring Board statement, Gerrit Zalm, Chairman of the Trustees said:

The Monitoring Board’s principles remind us that financial standards play an integral role in the economy by striving to provide unbiased, transparent and relevant information about the economic performance.  We at the IASC Foundation and the IASB are committed to ensuring that our response to the financial crisis is measured against that objective.

For a pdf version of this press release, click here

Give Away a Billion Dollars ?

According to a fascinating recent article in Forbes magazine there are now 14 living people who have allready given away over a billion dollars each to charitable causes http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/24/billion-dollar-donors-gates-business-billionaire-philanthropy.html. Several of the donors have dropped from the ranks of the wealthiest because of their generosity .

As might be expected Bill Gates leads the list with donations of approximately $28 billion so far . Hats off to this group of inspiring donors .

Cautions related to the L3C

A new state law is emerging as a potential business model for organizations.  The “L3C” or “low-profit limited liability company” is a new form of the LLC, first signed into law by the Governor of Vermont on April 30, 2008.  According to the Americans for Community Development (see link here) The L3C “combines the best features of a partnership (flexibility, ease of organization, and simplified taxation) with the best features of a corporation (liability protection and easier transferability of ownership.)”   Continue reading »

Maryland fraud case

According to the Washington Post on September 16, 2009 a Maryland man plead guilty to committing fraud against a local charity.

The accounting clerk  for the charity stole 33 blank checks over a four-month period that ended in January 2008. He then forged an official’s signature on the checks and issued them to 14 people, who deposited the checks and split the proceeds with him according to federal prosecutors. Cases such as this provide reinforcement over how important prompt bank reconciliations are and investigation of anything unusual.

UMD Forum for creating, leading and sustaining organizations for social impact

Please join the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business for this inaugural forum

Robert H Smith Forum

A forum about creating, leading and sustaining organizations for social impact.The Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to invite you, our Alumni, to attend Leadership for a Better World: Creating Social Value through Innovation, an inaugural forum held on September 25 in Washington, D.C.Click here to RegisterTopics will include:- The role of technology in shaping corporate engagement in social and environmental change, and the business opportunities arising from innovative models - The value of an authentic brand and the challenges of combining profits, sustainable growth and social good - Hands-on tools for developing service innovation within your industry - Strategies for authentically communicating your company’s social and environmental impacts Attendees from business, nonprofits, policy and academia are invited to join in the event, which will feature a global lineup of speakers including Seth Goldman of Honest Tea, Fast Company Magazine founder Alan Webber, renowned authors Rosabeth Moss Kanter of the Harvard Business School and Paul C. Light of New York University, and UM Professor Emeritus and Nobel Laureate Tom Schelling. Friday, September 25, 2009 Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We highly encourage business professionals and social entrepreneurs to attend as we will be talking a great deal about creating, leading and sustaining organizations for social impact. For more information, and to register, visit http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/betterworld. We hope you will join us to explore how your organization can implement socially responsible strategies and engage more deeply in values-based leadership.         GOLD SPONSOR: The Chonicle of Philanthropy   CENTER FOR SOCIAL VALUE CREATION CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

Being Prepared for Stimulus Funds

Be aware that your accounting system is likely to be subject to pre-award and annual audits from DCAA and other agencies if your company is planning on capitalizing on stimulus money by moving into the government sales arena. Join Aronson & Company on September 16th to learn more about the specialized accounting rules and procedures that your organization will be required to comply with. Topics at this event will include:

• Proper segregation of direct cost from indirect costs
• Identification and accumulation of direct costs by contract
• Allocation of indirect costs to intermediate and final cost objections
• Timekeeping systems that identify employees’ labor by intermediate and final cost objections

The stimulus package has created a myriad of opportunities for committed and well-prepared organizations, so make sure you don’t overlook this important part of doing business with the government. RSVP today!

Ten Tips for Taxpayers Making Charitable Donations

The top ten things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations is a useful reminder of some of the basic rules in this area . See http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172936,00.html  for this summary .

Getting Reacquainted with Your 403(b) Plan

Once considered the “low maintenance” retirement plan arrangement, 403(b) plans are now required to operate much more like their 401(k) counterparts. This means greater regulatory oversight and more responsibility on the part of plan administrators to ensure compliance. Gone are the “good ole days” of no formal plan document, limited 5500 reporting, plan activities that were driven by product vendors, and outdated regulatory requirements. Please join Aronson & Company for an important webinar on this topic .

Please see http://www.aronsoncompany.com/NewsEvents/EventDetails.asp?id=338 to register .