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The Global Insight

Do nonprofits need accountants?

Author

John Hall

Updated on February 06, 2026

All nonprofits must file an annual Form 990 in order to report financial data back to the government and maintain their 501(C)(3) status. Your accountant will help your nonprofit ensure this tax form is in order each year. Reconcile all bank accounts.

Do nonprofits have to share their financials?

Answer. Indeed. Nonprofits are required to submit their financial statements and other information — including the salaries of directors, officers, and key employees — to the IRS. The IRS and nonprofits themselves are required to disclose the information on Form 990 to anyone who asks.

Can a non-profit be one person?

No one person or group of people can own a nonprofit organization. Ownership is the major difference between a for-profit business and a nonprofit organization. For-profit businesses can be privately owned and can distribute earnings to employees or shareholders.

What is a nonprofit financial statement?

No matter what it’s called, the statement of financial activities (SOA) shows the nonprofit organization’s income and expenses for a specific period of time. The report reflects the changes to an organization’s net assets resulting from income and expenses that occur during the current fiscal year.

How do I find non profits financials?

Search for annual reports on GuideStar or the nonprofit’s website. All nonprofits with $100K in annual contributions or over $250K in assets are required to file an IRS Form 990. The Form 990 is publicly available and can be found on the organization’s page or on nonprofit databases such as GuideStar.

What should I know about governmental and nonprofit accounting?

Chapter 1 Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting: Answer Key 1. Governmental (expendable) funds are used to account for the financial assets; related liabilities; changes in net… 2. Proprietary (nonexpendable) funds are used to account for the revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity …

How are funds accounted for in governmental accounting?

Such “funds” are not separate accounting entities, but are accounted for by establishing appropriately titled asset and liability accounts within the organization’s general ledger. c. No, the creation of a fund does not constitute authority to spend or obligate its resources.

Is it possible to get a non-profit bookkeeping service?

You can get a bookkeeping service with non-profit experience to do all of the inputting and number-crunching for you. Regardless of which solution you end up using, it must let you do the following:

Can a nonprofit organization use a personal bank account?

Don’t use your personal bank account to receive, hold or disburse money for your nonprofit. Make sure all of your nonprofit’s transactions go through a dedicated bank account.