10 Steps to a Successful Audit – Tips for Not-for-Profit Organizations

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10 Steps to a Successful Audit – Tips for Not-for-Profit Organizations

Mar 13, 2018

Gregory S. Dowell

March 13, 2018

The Not-for-Profit section of the AICPA recently published a list of 10 steps that nonprofits can take to facilitate their annual financial audit. For the benefit of our nonprofit clients, we are re-printing the list in its entirety:

If preparing for your upcoming audit seems daunting, you’re not alone. Many of us feel a sense of dread at fiscal year-end. We’ve compiled our best tips to help you have a smooth audit:

1. Plan ahead.

Devote additional time both prior to and in connection with year-end close to adequately prepare for the audit, to be available during audit fieldwork, and to communicate with those involved in the audit process. Proper planning and clear expectations will help minimize anxiety and frustration. To be ahead of the curve, treat audit preparation as a year-long process. By keeping schedules and reconciliations up-to-date throughout the year, you can reduce the time it takes to prepare for the audit at the end of the year. Also, maintain an open line of communication between the organization and the external auditors during the year rather than waiting until the audit to discuss new or unusual transactions. This will minimize surprises and allow the organization to make appropriate plans or necessary changes.

2. Stay up-to-date on accounting standards.

New accounting pronouncements may affect your organization’s audit. You will want to stay up-to-date because you may need to manage or track data in a different way (for example, by updating documentation or reorganizing the chart of accounts) in order to implement new standards. Also, be sure to assess whether accounting personnel require any additional training or information in order to implement the new requirements. The AICPA provides eNewsAlerts for its members on new and emerging trends affecting NFPs through its Not-for-Profit Section and also publishes the annual Not-for-Profit Entities – Audit & Accounting Guide. To go straight to the source, refer to the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s website, fasb.org, to determine which new accounting pronouncements are effective for the year under audit.

3. Assess changes in activities.

Did the organization start a new program or receive a new grant? Are there any new reporting requirements? Were any activities discontinued, or were there any impairments? Were there significant changes in internal control systems? Such changes in activities may trigger accounting and reporting considerations that should be communicated to the auditor during the planning process.

4. Learn from the past.

Take stock of any prior year audit adjustments, internal control recommendations, or struggles encountered during prior audits. These can be a starting point for self-review and a memory-jogger to insure these issues are not repeated. During the planning meeting with the auditors, discuss what went well during last year’s audit and where there may be opportunities for improvement or more effective communication between the organization and the auditors.

5. Develop timeline and assign responsibility.

Review the list of workpapers and schedules requested by the auditors, making sure to obtain clarification of requested information when necessary. Assign each item from the list to a responsible person and include a due date. Make sure to allow adequate time for review and correction of schedules if necessary. Tackle the most difficult, complex, or time-consuming areas first when possible. The drafts of the financial statements, schedules, workpapers or other items requested by the auditor should be available on or before the first day of audit fieldwork.

6. Organize data.

Create a repository of audit schedules that can be accessed in future years by the appropriate personnel. Consider creating subfolders for significant transaction cycles or categories, such as cash, revenue and receivables, expenses and payables, investments, fixed assets, debt, etc. to make it easier to manage and retrieve schedules. Schedules and workpapers containing sensitive information, such as payroll, may need to be password-protected or maintained in an appropriately restricted network location.

7. Ask questions.

If an item requested by the auditor is unclear, ask for clarification prior to the start of fieldwork to avoid potential delays. Auditors are generally happy to answer accounting questions regarding unusual or infrequent transactions the organization may need assistance in accounting for. Also, ask questions of those within the organization to obtain information necessary to prepare required footnote disclosures. Such discussions could include significant accounting estimates, pending or threatened litigation, related party transactions, commitments and contingencies, and other topics necessary to prepare required footnote disclosures.

8. Perform a self-review.

Once all year-end closing entries are made, review schedules and workpapers to ensure amounts agree or reconcile to the trial balance. Take a step back and assess the overall financial statements for reasonableness. Also read and update the notes to your financial statements, and refer to a disclosure checklist to make sure you have included all the required information. Be prepared to explain financial statement line item variances from year to year or from budget to actual.

9. Be available during fieldwork.

Avoid key personnel scheduling time off during the audit, and consider rescheduling or postponing non-critical meetings for finance and accounting staff heavily involved with the audit. Although most of the schedules and workpapers will have been requested by the auditors prior to the start of audit fieldwork, understand that the auditors will be asking for additional information, including supporting documents and explanations, throughout fieldwork. Consider having brief status meetings or obtaining an open items list from the auditors at logical intervals during the engagement to track progress.

10. Evaluate results.

Maintain communication with the auditors during the time between fieldwork and the issuance of the audit report. If there are any open items at the end of fieldwork, establish agreed upon dates for the information to be provided to the auditors whenever possible. If the auditor is to attend meetings with the audit or finance committee and/or board of directors, confirm that the auditor has the date, time, meeting location and other pertinent details of the meeting. Consider holding a post-audit closing meeting with employees involved in the audit to communicate results and solicit feedback.

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Getting Married? What a Perfect Time to Talk About Taxes!

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by Gregory S. Dowell Updated May 16, 2023 Spring is the traditional kick-off to wedding season, and thoughts quickly turn to the wedding venue, gifts, the happy couple, and, of course, the guest list. Lurking somewhere in the shadows, behind even that strange uncle you barely know, is another guest that needs to be considered: The tax impact on the newlyweds. To start, newlyweds will have two options for filing their income taxes in the year of marriage: Filing status can either be married filing jointly, or married filing separately. In the vast majority of cases, a couple will benefit with a lower overall tax burden to the couple by choosing to file married filing jointly. One of the classic cases where a couple may consider filing separately is when one spouse has significant amounts of medical expenses for the year. Medical expenses are only deductible if they exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income; using only one spouse's income may allow a deduction to be taken if filing separately, compared to losing the medical deduction entirely if both incomes are combined by filing jointly. We previously had written about the tax trap that often occurs when two people get married, resulting often in an unanticipated balance due when the first joint tax return for the couple was filed. While President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), changed the dynamics somewhat, it is still worthwhile to put pen to paper before saying “I do”. Prospective spouses have the opportunity to save money by taking income tax considerations into account before tying the knot. That’s particularly true for those who plan to marry late this year or early next year. As this article explains, from the federal income tax standpoint, some individuals marrying next year may come out ahead by either deferring or accelerating income, depending on their circumstances. Others may find it to their advantage to defer a year-end marriage until next year. For some quick background, a “marriage penalty” exists whenever the tax on a couple’s joint return is more than the combined taxes each spouse would pay if they weren’t married and each filed a single or head of household income tax return. Before President Trump’s TCJA, only the 10% and 15% married filing jointly brackets were set at twice that of the singles bracket, and so the marriage penalty effect on joint filers applied in the brackets above the 15% bracket. Beginning with the 2018 tax year, however, the TCJA set the statutory tax brackets for marrieds filing jointly-through the 32% bracket-at twice the amount of the corresponding tax brackets for singles. As a result, the TCJA eliminated any tax-bracket-generated marriage penalty effect for joint filers where each spouse has roughly the same amount of taxable income-through the 32% bracket. For example, if two individuals who each have $215,950 of taxable income file as single taxpayers for 2022, each would have a tax bill of $49,335.50, for a combined total of $98,671. If they were married, their tax bill as marrieds filing jointly would be $98,671, exactly the same amount as the combined total tax they’d pay as single taxpayers. Because the 35% bracket for marrieds filing jointly isn’t twice the amount of the singles 35% bracket, the marriage penalty effect will still apply to joint filers whose income falls in the 35% bracket. Using 2022 tax tables, two single taxpayers may each have $500,000 in taxable income, for a combined total of $1,000,000, without having any of it taxed higher than 35%. However, for marrieds filing jointly, the 35% tax bracket ends at $647,850 in taxable income, and each additional dollar of taxable income taxed at 37%. Thus, where two high-earning unmarried taxpayers with substantially equal amounts of taxable income are planning for their marriage to take place either late this year or early next, it may pay from the tax viewpoint to defer the marriage until next year. As an example, if two individuals each have $539,900 of taxable income file as single taxpayers for 2023, each would have a tax bill of $162,718, for a combined total of $325,436. If they were married before the end of the year, their tax bill as marrieds filing jointly would be $334,076, or $8,640 more than the combined total tax they’d pay as single taxpayers. If only one of the prospective spouses has substantial income, marriage and the filing of a joint return may save taxes, thus resulting in a marriage bonus. The bonus is the result of two factors: 1) the tax brackets for marrieds filing jointly cover wider spans of income than the tax brackets for taxpayers as singles; and 2) the taxable income of the lower-earning individual may not push the couple’s combined income into a higher tax bracket. In such a case, it will probably be better from the tax standpoint to accelerate the marriage into this year if feasible. There are a number of other factors that should also be taken into account when determining the effect of a marriage on income taxes of the couple. As mentioned early in this post, the first decision is to verify that filing a joint return is preferred to filing separate returns. In addition, many provisions of the tax code phase out completely (or decrease partially) as adjusted gross income increases. In a perfect world, there would only be good surprises for a newlywed couple following their wedding. To avoid any unpleasant income tax surprises, we always recommend that a newlywed couple take the time to make a projection of what their income will look like when combined as a couple, and determine what the tax bill will look like, at the Federal and State levels. After all, planning ahead, communicating with each other, discussing finances, and avoiding unpleasant surprises are some of the keys to a long marriage.