Product Description

A hands-on guide to the ins and outs of nonprofit accounting

Not-for-Profit Accounting Made Easy, Second Edition equips you with the tools you need to run the financial and accounting operations within your nonprofit organization. Even if you do not have a professional understanding of accounting principles and financial reporting, this handy guide makes it all clear with complex accounting rules explained in terms nonaccountants can easily understand in order to help you better fulfill your managerial and fiduciary duties. Always practical and never overtechnical, this helpful guide conforms to FASB and AICPA standards and:

• Discusses federal single audit and its impact on nonprofits

• Offers examples of various types of split-interest agreements

• Shows you how to read and understand a nonprofit financial statement

• Explains financial accounting and reporting standards

• Helps you become conversant in the rules and principles of accounting

• Updates board members, executive directors, and other senior managers on the accounting basics they should know for day-to-day operations

• Features tables, exhibits, and charts that illustrate the content in a simple and easy-to-understand manner

Suitable for fundraising managers and executives—as well as anyone who needs to read and understand a nonprofit financial statement—this is the ultimate not-an-accountant's guide to nonprofit accounting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41186 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From the Inside Flap

Not-for-Profit
Accounting Made Easy
Second Edition

The world of accounting can be intimidating but there's no way to avoid it—even nonprofit organizations must venture into financialjargon and concepts. Now in a second edition, Not-for-Profit Accounting Made Easy, Second Edition shows you how to read and understand a nonprofit financial statement, while providing you with a basic understanding of the accounting and financial reporting practices of a nonprofit.

Clarifying nonprofit accounting principles and reporting standards in simple terms that are easily understood by those with little or no prior accounting experience, Nonprofit Accounting Made Easy, Second Edition conforms to FASB and AICPA standards and forms and introduces you to:

• Basic accounting terminology

• Fundamental accounting concepts

• Basic financial statements of a nonprofit organization

• Accounting for contributions, investments and financial instruments, activities with joint costs, affiliated organizations, and collections

• Accounting peculiarities of health care, education, and religious and cultural nonprofits

• Accounting for leases

• Accounting for pension plans and other employee benefit plans

Simple and practical in approach, this book is helpful not only for nonaccountants with accounting duties but also for people who work with nonprofits in a variety of capacities. Since nonprofit accounting differs in many subtle ways from normal business accounting, this book shows you how to brush up on the idiosyncrasies that separate the two. Management and staff, board members, consultants, donors, and creditors can all benefit from understanding the fundamental principles of nonprofit accounting.

With updated GAAP hierarchy discussions including the PCAOB and its impact on standards setting and applicability to nonprofit organizations, Nonprofit Accounting Made Easy, Second Edition offers a wealth of practical information on putting accounting principles to work for your nonprofit.

About the Author
Warren Ruppel, CPA, is the Director of Government Services at Marks Paneth & Shron LLP, where he is also a key member of the firm's quality assurance function. He is the author of several Wiley accounting publications, including Not-for-Profit Audit Committee Best Practices, and Wiley GAAP for Governments, as well as CCH's Not-for-Profit Organization Audits. He began his career at KPMG and later joined Deloitte & Touche to specialize in audits of not-for-profit organizations and governments. He has since served as the chief financial officer of an international not-for-profit organization and, most recently, was the assistant comptroller for accounting of the City of New York where he was responsible for the City's accounting and financial reporting. He has also served as chair of the audit commitee of the New York State Society of CPAs.

Customer Reviews

Better than college textbooks
The author wrote this book assuming that non-financial people need to understand accounting, making this easy to read and understandable. Having gone through a college course on accounting, and being forced to use three other books (which were also worthless), I only wished I read this book first. Although it's designed for not-for-profit organizations, it explains the differences with for-profit organizations, and explains why certain things can be done, or can't be done. For anyone who is starting fresh, starting a new company, or planning on taking accounting in college, I would strongly recommend you invest $30 (my accounting textbook was over $100) and the first chapter alone, summarizes the the first 10 chapters of several college textbooks.

small non-profit organization treasurer
This book is not for bookkeepers. It is more for accountants who want to understand non-profit accounting. If a bookkeeper needs to know the proper day to day and month to month entries for this kind of organization, than this book is not for you.
However, if you are an accountant, you may be able to glean good information about the basic philosophy of non-profit organizations, such as account set-up and reporting.

Soporific and Overly Wordy.
Reads like a law textbook. Author often uses three sentences where one would do. Much ink is wasted telling the reader "we won't go into that here, but Chapter "X" deals exclusively with that." Concepts are understandable for those with an accounting background, but definitely would not recommend to someone without a solid grasp of accounting fundamentals. Author should have hired a writer to help him smooth out his writing style. Not recommended.