The current economic environment has heightened the need for effective audit committees. Essentially, all financial transactions and equations have a data trail behind them. You should be sure to not only work out the math on your finance team, but also provide the complete set of unaltered, raw data that your auditor needs to check your work. While your nonprofit can pull reports that show the final allocations of time spent on various mission-related activities and projects, the auditor will want to check your work. Therefore, in addition to showing them the final math, you should also present your raw timesheet data.

The problem with Nonprofit Audit is that you can’t arbitrarily pick a spending ratio out of the air – even if you’re making an educated guess. You absolutely need proof and documentation to back up the choices you make when allocating overhead costs. Likewise, if your executive director is giving a talk at a fundraising event. Their labor costs for the entire time spent at that event should not be entirely allocated to fundraising because a large portion of the time is most likely spent on program education rather than actual fundraising.

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Organizations that have gross support and revenue of more than $200,000 in a fiscal year must submit financial statements audited or reviewed by an independent certified public accountant . Whether the financial statements must be audited or reviewed depends on whether the organization’s gross support and revenue exceeded $500,000 in that year.

Even as your https://www.bookstime.com/ changes and expands, you’ll be confident that your finances are always secure and well-allocated. Nonprofit audits may seem scary, but they can actually be quite helpful!

ways nonprofits can prepare for an audit

In an independent audit, you will select an independent auditor for the examination of your books. This person is normally a certified professional accountant who your nonprofit will be paying for the audit. These discussions can help your committee and organization leaders learn more about the audit itself and prepare for any questions that may arise from the board when you present the management letter to them. You should make sure you have as much information upfront as possible to assure board members that you’re taking the audit seriously and determine the next steps coming out of it.