Not-For-Profit Accounting Made Easy

by Warren Ruppel

Book Overview

A practical, introductory guide to the fundamentals of not-for-profit accounting Not-for-Profit Accounting Made Easy focuses on accounting fundamentals for those who run financial and accounting operations in not-for-profit organizations but do not have a professional understanding of accounting principles and financial reporting. It explains complex accounting rules in terms nonaccountants can easily understand in order to help them better fulfill...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471206792
• ISBN13: 9780471206798
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Required reading for Board Members of 501(c)(3)'s

The differences between GAAP and GAAP with application of FASB 116 and 117 are provided with over 75% of the book used for this purpose. Bookkeeping experience is necessary, and some accounting is also required to understand these differences. Good information for churches and a must for all IRS Form 1024 not-for-profit board members. Those serving on such boards need this and some accounting primers to fulfill their responsibilities. IRS Form 1023 churches are currently exempt from the 990 filing but should seriously consider adopting the FASB 116 and 117 recommendations indicated in this book. Financial institutions providing funding of any type to not-for-profit entities will be looking for financial statements that include the not-for-profit rules of FASB 116 and 117. Rated five stars for those with accounting backgrounds and involved in financial areas of not-for-profit 501(c)(3) 1023 and 1024 organizations.

Handy overview and resource

Mr. Ruppel's book is an excellent resource but presumes the reader has a nodding acquaintanceship with accounting principles and how to read a financial statement. Concise explanation of contemporary accounting standards for not for profit enterprises is provided and the book can be a reference for donors or accountants.

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.

Very good, but not quite "easy"

This book is exactly what I (as a newly-minted board member) needed to help me figure out some of the oddities and kinks in nonprofit financial reports. Information is presented clearly and logically.Only two little problems kept me from awarding five stars.1. If you have no accounting background at all, you may find it difficult to make sense of some parts of the book. At several points, a general familiarity with accounting concepts and terms is assumed. I had taken an introductory accounting class a few years ago at a community college, and with that background, had no trouble at all with the book. I suspect that if I'd read this book before taking that class, I would have given up in hopeless confusion after the first chapter. Be warned.2. The book contains examples of financial reports. That's good. Unfortunately, it shows all the dollar amounts as "$XXXX.XX" or similar. That's bad. It would have been much better to construct an example with actual numbers, so the reader could see which numbers flowed where.If you know even a little bit about accounting, and you are involved with the finances of a nonprofit organization (staff, board, major donor), this is a valuable resource.

Comprehensive and Easy to Understand!

I work at a not-for-profit organization and always found the books in this field too technical. This is the first book I found that covers all of the essential information I need to know about non-profits but in a clear and easy-to-ready format. It has greatly enhanced my understanding of the field. An excellent book for anyone connected to a non-profit organization.