Starting in February 2018, Pennsylvania nonprofits must reach higher levels of annual contributions in order to trigger audit requirements.
Act 71 of 2017, which Governor Wolf signed into law in December, increased the annual contribution levels at which a nonprofit must undergo an audit, review or compilation. The new thresholds are:
- Annual contributions of $750,000 and above: Audit required
- Annual contributions between $250,000 and $750,000: Review or audit required
- Annual contributions between $100,000 and $250,000: Compilation, review or audit required
- Annual contributions below $100,000: Audit, review or compilation optional
Pennsylvania defines annual gross contributions as federated campaign contributions, membership dues (contribution portion only), all income from fundraising and gaming events, contributions from related organizations and general contributions. On Form 990, these categories of annual gross contributions are captured in Part VIII on lines 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1f, 8a and 9a. On Form 990-EZ, annual gross contributions are tallied in lines 1, 6a and 6b, less any government grants.
While these new state thresholds can be a strong indicator of the type of financial statement a nonprofit must prepare, leaders of the organization should consider other circumstances that may also necessitate financial statements before making any changes to routine compliance procedures. Beyond state regulators, there are other entities that use and require financial statements, like grant issuers and financial institutions.
A companion bill simultaneously signed into law by the Governor, Act 72 of 2017, addresses the timeliness of state charitable registration forms. Currently, nonprofits must ensure their forms are received by state regulators before the renewal date to be considered timely. Under Act 72, however, nonprofit forms will be considered timely so long as they are postmarked on or before the date of renewal. Act 72 will also hold the Department of State’s Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations to a standard, 15-day review timeframe for renewal forms.
Acts 71 and 72 take effect February 20, 2018. For financial statement purposes, these means any organization with a fiscal year ending March 31, 2017 or later will follow the new thresholds. For filing purposes, any return due after February 20, 2018 will be considered filed when postmarked.
For more information on these legislative changes or to assess what type of financial statement your nonprofit may require, contact Douglas L. Berman, CPA, RKL’s Not-for-Profit Industry Group Leader.
