Not for Profit Accounting

It costs money to run a charity, and administration for not-for-profits can’t be an afterthought. While most not-for-profit organisations are committed to keeping their costs low, sound financial management and administration are a necessity.

Accounting For Good celebrates 25 years in June 2022. It’s an incredible milestone and we are very proud of this achievement. We have invited some of our founders, our current team and our clients to comment on their thoughts and experiences of the last 25 years.

If you are still actioning a lot of financial tasks manually, then it’s time to consider implementing elements of financial automation within your not for profit. Automation can help save you time and money, and for most NFPs that would be highly beneficial.

Is the calendar right? Is it really the end of April? Yes… we are already in the final quarter of FY22, which means you need to be preparing your not for profit budget. We’ve put together some tips that will help you prepare for the coming year.

Working in the world of accounting can be challenging. You need many different skills to be able to fulfil your day-to-day tasks. We have exceptionally skilled team members who know the nuances of the not for profit sector like no other.

After a decade working from our lovely Castlereagh Street office, the time has come for Accounting For Good to move to a vibrant new location. The last two years have seen a significant shift in our work-life habits and the processes and tech-stack that we’ve built over the years

We’ve said it before… but we’ll say it again… we love cloud accounting! It provides a vast range of benefits to our clients and enables us to offer an extensive service that can be tailored to suit any sized not for profit organisation.

A not for profit organisation relies on quality financial management in order to pursue its purpose. These financial responsibilities can become complicated and difficult for a bookkeeper to manage. This is when you might start to think – does your not for profit need a CFO?

In the lead up to 30 June there are always a lot of accounting tasks that require your attention. But one of the most critical is reviewing your profit and loss reports in relation to your funding and all related projects.

It’s hard to believe that the end of the financial year is almost upon us again! To help you navigate the upcoming audit period we’ve put together an EOFY accounting checklist to keep you feeling on top of your task load.

In October 2020, the Federal Government announced the introduction of the JobMaker Hiring Credit Scheme (JobMaker).

When it comes to managing the financials of a not for profit, it can be a challenging task for people without the necessary accounting skills. This is why you need an NFP accounting expert.

Welcome to part four of our Understanding Financial Reports series – we’ve worked through context, Accounting 101 and the Profit & Loss, and this month’s instalment brings us to the Balance Sheet.

Australian organisations and not for profits (NFPs) heaved a collective sigh of relief in March 2020, when the federal government announced its $70 billion JobKeeper scheme.

It’s important for new non profit organisations to have a strong foundation in financial management to ensure success.

So far in our Understanding Financial Reports series, we have looked at the context of financial governance and a brief Accounting 101 on the chart of accounts, cost centres and cash vs accrual accounting.

In this installment of our series we want to give you some accounting context and also to further set the scene with a reminder that financial reports are not just a task for your accountant, they are a source of information that supports your decision making.

As a senior manager or Board member of a not for profit organisation, you have a fiduciary duty to understand the organisation’s financial position and make decisions in the best interests of the organisation.

Working from home has become the new normal in 2020. We’ve reconfigured our home offices and found ways to make our new working environments as productive as possible.

Every individual within an organisation has their set of responsibilities. But what happens when a key staff member leaves and no one else in the company has access to the information that person managed? Here is our accounting handover checklist.

The end of the financial year is looming and we know that this year has been unusual, to say the least. We want to make sure you are well prepared for 30 June and the coming audit season… so we have a selection of EOFY tips that will help you get organised.

AFG’s NDIS clients are actually in a very good position despite COVID-19 – one has even been able to extend the reach of their online group programs to regional NSW for the first time – so it is possible to survive or even thrive in the circumstances.

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) published AASB 16 in February 2016. AFG Account Managers Jane Chen and Carol Tran discuss the changes that have been implemented and what it means for our not for profit clients.

We have been utilising Xero’s cloud-based accounting system for over a decade… and with good reason.

Applications for the Federal Government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme opened on Monday 20 April. We will clarify a few questions that we’ve been hearing frequently from our NFP clients.

Each financial year, when we reach Q4, we discuss the need to look at the coming year’s budget. It’s no different this year… except it is. We know that this year everyone is experiencing some turmoil.

Published 24 March 2020 – Where to start? I feel confident that what I write today may likely be out of date by tomorrow as coronavirus makes itself felt across the globe and creeps inexorably throughout our community.

Fundraising can be a tough gig. There are so many worthwhile causes in constant competition that it can be hard to find donors and reach your goals.

The sudden departure of a key person within your finance team can create an accounting emergency. The recovery process can be difficult and often requires a lot of resources and can be especially demanding on the CEO in a small-medium sized organisation.

You might recall there was a fairly well publicised superannuation amnesty that was meant to run for 12 months from May 2018 – trouble is, the legislation didn’t pass and there was no official amnesty.

The financial landscape for not for profit (NFP) organisations continuously evolves. In the past, in-kind contributions were rarely seen, but today they are becoming more common in NFP accounting.

Many not for profit (NFP) organisations face challenges associated with funding. Relying on government grants, philanthropic donations and fundraising typically means dollars are limited.

At Accounting For Good we love cloud-based accounting. It provides a myriad of benefits to our clients and enables us to offer an extensive service that can be tailored to suit any sized not for profit (NFP) organisation.

The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year is coming to a close very soon… on the 31st March, in fact. The last thing you want is to realise in early April that you have exceeded the threshold and find yourself with an FBT liability.

Not for profit (NFP) organisations have unique aspects that might be surprising for a commercial accountant. There are specific standards that NFPs must adhere to, and a range of taxation differences. So what is NFP accounting?

At this point in time, your April accounts are about to be finalised and reports produced. If you have a 30 June year end, that means this is the second last opportunity you have to influence your FY19 accounts.

Embarking on an accounting system upgrade can be a daunting task. The responsibility can be overwhelming for finance staff in any organisation.

As we head into April, and the final quarter of the June 30 financial year, many not for profits are starting to prepare for the annual reporting process, as well as turning their attention to budgeting and forecasting for the new financial year.

If you’re one of those organisations that closed off your 2018 financial year at the end of December, no doubt right now you’ll be busy checking your data, perhaps finalising a stocktake, reconciling your accounts and preparing your financial year end reports, ensuring employee entitlements are up to date and the Balance Sheet reflects your position correctly.

Seven healthy financial habits to kick off the New Year! Did you make any personal New Year resolutions this year? Maybe a promise to achieve better work/life balance? Exercise more frequently? Read more books or watch more sunsets?

A few key Australian Accounting Standards are changing and are mandatory for NFPs for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.

When the end of year rush is over, many organisations find themselves with a bit of spare ‘downtime’ over the latter part of December and in early January. Why not look at the odd jobs list?

The innovative team at AFG like to stay in touch, and ahead of technology. So when the opportunity to work smarter, faster and more efficiently came up … it just made sense to utilise Xero.

It’s that time of year when many not for profits will have completed their audit and received the auditor’s letter detailing adjustments to the accounts and risks they’ve identified.

Currently, many not for profit CEOs and finance staff are preparing their EOFY financial reports for the July board meetings.