Here are a few helpful tips from our Firm to help your organization get through the year-end close:

Donors and Restricted Donations

• Notices to Donors: Make sure your organization has sent out thank you letters and/or donor letters to those that have given funds to your organization throughout the year.
• Donor Statements: If you have donors that have pledged gifts that haven’t fulfilled their pledge, send them a year end reminder of their pledged balance with the terms discussed.
• If you have donations that were restricted as to use, compile a list of “net assets released from restrictions” as of year end. Review this to make sure all items have been released appropriately.

Year-End Transactions

• Check to make sure all revenue and expenses have been accounted for in the proper period.
• This is a good time to do a thorough scrubbing of any reconciling items on bank or investment reconciliations. Make sure these are duplicate transactions or transactions that need to be voided.
• Make sure all payroll related liabilities such as PTO accruals, payroll taxes, etc are accrued properly at year end.
• If your organization estimated depreciation throughout the year, make sure to do a reconciliation to the actual amount that should be expensed. This is also a good time to check that all additions or disposals have been recorded properly.
• Take a physical inventory and reconcile your count to the books.
• Review the results of your operations for the year as compared to the budget.  Make any necessary budget adjustments for trends or changes to next years budget.

Other Helpful Reminders

• Review your Statement of Financial Position closely. Look for any accounts that have become stale and not changed from prior year or any account balances that might look unusual.
• Review your percentages and methodology for allocating shared expenses for your organization's Statement of Functional Expenses.
• Review all payroll information and make sure you have all the information to complete the 1099s and W2s.
• Make sure your organization has gathered the information for the financial statement disclosures and has  appropriately adopted any new accounting pronouncements.

These are just a few of the many accounting issues that nonprofit organizations muct address with their year end close process.  This is a great time for organizations to look back at what they have accomplished throughout the year and prepare to enter the next year in position to have another successful year!

We wish all of our nonprofit clients and friends a “Happy Year-End Close”!