profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

The Statement of Cash Flows is one of the core external nonprofit financial statements required for an independent audit, so you should be familiar with it. If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you didn’t get to the top of your organization by burying your nose in nonprofit financial statements. Nonprofits serve a valuable role in our communities and states, providing services and programs to address the social, physical, and emotional needs of our population. That being said, to build trust, nonprofits need to have accurate financial statements reflecting whether they are being good stewards of the funds given to them. The more transparent a nonprofit is, the better for the financial success of their organization and its ability to fulfill its mission. The Statement of Financial Position resembles a for-profit entity’s Balance Sheet.

Nonprofit Organization Financial Statement

profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

The input cells with yellow cell backgrounds on the Setup sheet need to be completed in order to set the template up for your business. The business name is included as a heading on all the sheets and also as a heading on all the financial statement pages. It is common knowledge that businesses must pay taxes and file a federal income tax return each year, but for tax-exempt organizations, compliance requirements are different. While there is no federal income tax return required for not-for-profit companies, they must still complete an annual return, called Form 990. Furthermore, WWF adds graphs that illustrate the nonprofit’s operating revenue and program spending growth over the past decade. It is also the term used by not-for-profit organizations instead of owner’s equity or stockholders’ equity.

Best practices for nonprofit financial reporting

profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

The statement of cash flow shows how money is flowing in and out of various accounts, reflecting how donations are being spent in line with the mission of the nonprofit. Despite their differences, some nonprofit organizations have furthered their mission by applying for-profit business approaches while still producing GAAP-compliant external reporting. Having organized and accurate financial reports is the key to running an efficient nonprofit organization. If you’re ready to step up the financial reporting game at your nonprofit, give JFW Accounting Services a call today to learn how we can help. It helps you monitor your cash flow, identify potential cash shortages or surpluses, and ensure your organization can meet its financial obligations, like current liabilities and program expenses. To make this process easier, we recommend that your organization partner with a nonprofit accountant like the experts at Jitasa.

profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

Change in Net Assets

These values are also included based on the values that are recorded for the appropriate reporting classes on the FinInfo sheet. We will also not be able to assist you in adding additional notes to the standard financial statements – you should be able to do this on your own by following the steps which we covered earlier on in these instructions. The provisions note contains a total line which is based on the trial balance accounting services for nonprofit organizations values and individual lines based on the values entered on the FinInfo sheet. We have therefore also included a balancing line to ensure that imbalances between the FinInfo sheet values and the trial balance values do not cause balance sheet imbalances. The FinInfo sheet contains the financial information that needs to be included in our standard financial statements but can typically not be derived from the amounts on a trail balance. These values therefore need to be entered for each financial period included in the financial statements and for which a trial balance is therefore included on the TB sheet.

Sample Nonprofit Financial Statement Template

An “add!” status will be displayed if the items cannot be matched to the Classes sheet. The formula in column A on the FinInfo sheet need to be copied for all new items which are added to the sheet. Different formulas are used in the different sections of the sheet and you therefore need to copy the formula from one of the existing lines in the appropriate section. In terms of new and existing businesses and the addition of new columns, the same procedure that needs to be followed in order to add new columns to the TB sheet needs to be completed for the FinInfo sheet.

Change in Net Assets:

profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

In this guide, you’ll learn about the four key statements every nonprofit needs, how to prepare them, and which financial ratios are most helpful. Understanding and analyzing key financial metrics and ratios helps nonprofits assess their financial health, measure operational efficiency, and make informed strategic decisions. These metrics provide insights into areas like sustainability, program efficiency, and cost management. Nonprofit expenses are categorized to provide transparency in resource allocation, allowing stakeholders to see exactly how funds are distributed and used within the organization.

FREE 10+ Diversity Mission Statement Samples in MS Word PDF

profit and loss statement for nonprofit organization

Finally, compile this information into a clear format, ensuring that it is easy to understand for all stakeholders. For more detailed guidance, check out how to grow a nonprofit organization for tips on financial management. The statement of cash flows (or cash flow statement) is one of the main financial statements (along with the income statement and balance sheet). The statement of cash flows reports the sources and uses of cash by operating activities, investing activities, financing activities, and certain supplemental information for the period specified in the heading of the statement. Nonprofits need to keep the balls in the air, ensuring they respect the wishes of their donors while also meeting the organization’s needs.

The statement of functional expenses is described as a matrix since it reports expenses by their function (programs, management and general, fundraising) and by the nature or type of expense (salaries, rent). For instructional purposes we highlighted the column headings to indicate the expenses by function. We also highlighted the words in the first column as they indicate the nature or type of expenses.