Back to top

Newsroom

Click here to go back

Gifts in Kind: New reporting requirements for non-profits

Posted by Admin Posted on Oct 19 2020



On September 17, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting rule that will provide more detailed information about noncash contributions charities and other not-for-profit organizations receive known as “gifts in kind.” Here are the details.

Need for change

Gifts in kind can play an important role in ensuring a charity functions effectively. They may include various goods, services and time. Examples of contributed nonfinancial assets include:

  • Fixed assets, such as land, buildings and equipment,
  • The use of fixed assets or utilities,
  • Materials and supplies, such as food, clothing or pharmaceuticals,
  • Intangible assets, and
  • Recognized contributed services.

Increased scrutiny by state charity officials and legislators over how charities use and report gifts in kind prompted the FASB to beef up the disclosure requirements. Specifically, some state legislators have been concerned about the potential for charities to overvalue gifts in kind and use the figures to prop up financial information to appear more efficient than they really are. Other worries include the potential for a nonprofit to hide wasteful use of its resources.

Enhanced transparency

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-07, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Presentation and Disclosures by Not-for-Profit Entities for Contributed Nonfinancial Assets, aims to give donors better information without causing nonprofits too much cost to provide the information.

The updated standard will provide more prominent presentation of gifts in kind by requiring nonprofits to show contributed nonfinancial assets as a separate line item in the statement of activities, apart from contributions of cash and other financial assets. It also calls for enhanced disclosures about the valuation of those contributions and their use in programs and other activities.

Specifically, nonprofits will be required to split out the amount of contributed nonfinancial assets it receives by category and in footnotes to financial statements. For each category, the nonprofit will be required to disclose the following:

  • Qualitative information about whether contributed nonfinancial assets were either monetized or used during the reporting period and, if used, a description of the programs or other activities in which those assets were used,
  • The nonprofit’s policy (if any) for monetizing rather than using contributed nonfinancial assets,
  • A description of any associated donor restrictions,
  • A description of the valuation techniques and inputs used to arrive at a fair value measure, in accordance with the requirements in Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, at initial recognition, and
  • The principal market (or most advantageous market) used to arrive at a fair value measurement if it is a market in which the recipient nonprofit is prohibited by donor restrictions from selling or using the contributed nonfinancial asset.

The new rule won’t change the recognition and measurement requirements for those assets, however.

Coming soon

ASU 2020-07 takes effect for annual periods after June 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years after June 15, 2022. Retrospective application is required, and early application is permitted.

Contact us for more information!

Please visit the archive for previous articles.

This blog site is intended for educational purposes directed towards our clients and provides general information about tax, accounting and business related topics.  It is not intended to provide professional advice.  We are not investment advisors. Accordingly, we suggest that you seek the advice of qualified investment advisors appropriate to each investment being considered. By using this blog site, you understand that there is no CPA/client relationship between you and Hyde & Company CPAs, P.C. or its employees.  The blog and website, including all contents posted by the author(s), should not be used as a substitute for competent counsel from a qualified advisor in your state.  Hyde & Company CPAs, P.C. posts are based on current or proposed tax rules at the time they are written and older posts are not updated for tax rule changes.  Tax rules are frequently changed, added, amended, and/or left to expire – always check with your CPA or accountant regarding the most current tax rules and how they apply to your specific tax issue