Form 990 for Non-Preparers

This half-day course covers the "Redesigned" Form 990 (in place for both 2008 and 2009 Forms), an entirely NEW 990 that emphasizes what filers DID during the year, under WHOSE legal management, and with WHAT internal policies and procedures. Because more than 75% of the inputs are non-financial in nature, all filers (and their advisers) must understand the multiple aspects of the Form that go beyond financial statement capture and reporting. Course participants will be guided on how to work with those who need handle and approach these inputs, to the end of understanding and acting upon the Form’s multiple tax-compliance and public transparency inquiries. Overall, this course emphasizes the need for 990 filers to procure information with/from Executive Directors, financial offices, and program staff of nonprofit organizations.

Course Objectives:
  • • Learn the current components of the Form 990 that provide "information to the public"
  • • Understand the challenges nonprofits face in translating their operations to the Form's inputs
  • • Appreciate the issues behind the Form’s most sensitive arenas: program accomplishment reporting, flagging insider transactions, disclosing executive compensation, handling governance questions, and reporting on fundraising events/sales as well as on contributions of property
  • • Learn the IRS' goals in employing stand-alone Schedules as well as a front "summary page"
  • • Survey the Redesigned Form's elaboration of key arenas that reflect current news headlines (including, but not limited to: compensation and remunerative benefits to Board members, Officers, "Key Employees" and certain "highly-compensated" staff; insider and disqualified person transactions; fundraising practices/ and expenditures; grant-making; and foreign operations)
  • • Be ready to adapt workpapers and data inputs to those the Redesigned Form 990 requires

      • Major Topics:
      • • The Form's design and emphasis (including key IRS/tax and legal environment issues highlighted by the Form)
      • • Survey of the entire 2008/2009 Forms
      • • Common preparation errors and “lessons learned”
      • • Demands the Form 990 makes on management versus preparers
      • • Prioritizing record-keeping and assisting-the-preparer tasks necessary in light of the Redesigned Form 990


        • Level: Basic, Refresher
        **This half-day course is typically offered by or under the sponsorship of community foundations and/or nonprofit councils and associations. CPE Credit of 4 hours can be arranged.

        National Form 990 expert Eve Borenstein has applied her intimate involvement with the IRS' Redesign Project to the design of this 2010 course. Ms. Borenstein has taught extensively in 2008 and 2009 courses on the new Form. Two all day classes, 990s for Real People and Redesigned Form 990, were offered by eight CPA societies and both full and half-day versions of the first of those two classes were sponsored by various community and private foundations nationally. In addition, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits ran multiple sessions (and posted a videotaped one on the web) of a three hour session designed to emphasize the transparency aspects of the Form 990 pre-redesign thru the 2008/9 Forms. These classes, authored/instructed by Ms. Borenstein personally (as is this class), consistently scored evaluation marks of 4.80-4.90, and earned instructor knowledge scores of 4.95-5.00.

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