Draft of not-for-profit guide scheduled for Aug. 15 release

CPAs performing work for not-for-profits will find guidance dedicated specifically to them in a working draft of a proposed audit and accounting guide, Not-for-Profit Entities, scheduled for release Aug. 15 by the AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC).

The AICPA will be requesting that comments on the proposed guide be provided during a 60-day period, ending Oct. 15. FinREC will consider these comments before issuing a final version. The draft will be available on the AICPA website.

Enhancements to the proposed guide, which addresses many new accounting issues that have emerged over recent years, will include:

• A greatly expanded section about reporting relationships with other entities. The guide will provide guidance and examples for reporting relationships with not-for-profit and for-profit corporations, limited liability partnerships, general partnerships, and financially interrelated entities.
• New sections about reporting and measuring noncash gifts, including gifts in kind; contributions of fundraising materials, informational materials, advertising, and media time or space; below-market interest rate loans; and bargain purchases.
• A greatly expanded section about municipal bond debt, including IRS considerations, third-party credit enhancements, capitalization of interest, extinguishments and debt modifications, and the effects of terms such as subjective acceleration clauses on the classification of debt.
• New guidance for reporting the expiration of donor-imposed restrictions.
• Greatly expanded discussion about the legal and regulatory environment in which not-for-profit entities operate.

The working draft will not include general and specific auditing considerations, analytical procedures, or reporting or considerations of internal control.

—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.