Nonprofits Face New Requirements in Financial Statements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that simplifies and improves how a not-for-profit organization classifies its net assets, as well as the information it presents in financial statements and notes about its liquidity, financial performance, and cash flows.

“The new guidance simplifies and improves the face of the financial statements and enhances the disclosures in the notes – which will enable not-for-profits to better communicate their financial performance and condition to their stakeholders while also reducing certain costs and complexities in preparing their financial statements,” said FASB Chair Russell G. Golden.

The ASU requires improved presentation and disclosures to help not-for-profits provide more relevant information about their resources (and the changes in those resources) to donors, grantors, creditors, and other users.

Not-for-profit organizations that will be affected include charities, foundations, colleges and universities, health care providers, religious organizations, trade associations, and cultural institutions, among others.

The amendments in the standard are effective for annual financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. Application to interim financial statements is permitted but not required in the initial year of application. Early application of the amendments in this Update is permitted.