Liquidity Considerations for Nonprofits Implementing the New Financial Statement Presentation Framework

Posted on April 13, 2018November 19, 2021

AAFCPAs advises nonprofits in assessing the impact of the new Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-14, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, and we provide guidance throughout the transition process. ASU 2016-14 affects nonprofit organizations in all industries (i.e. healthcare, affordable housing, social services, foundations and education) and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 (CY 2018 or FY 2019).

Liquidity and Availability of Resources

AAFCPAs strongly recommends that nonprofits establish written liquidity policy and procedures that reflect the new standard The new financial statement presentation framework includes new liquidity and availability of resources disclosure requirements. ASU 2016-14 requires nonprofits to provide the following:

Qualitative information in the notes to the financial statements on how the nonprofit manages its liquid resources to meet cash needs for general expenditures within one year of the statement of financial position date, and
Quantitative information either on the face of the statement of financial position or in the notes about the availability of a nonprofit’s financial assets to meet cash needs for general expenditures within one year of the statement of financial position date.
Additional qualitative information about the availability of the financial assets may be provided, as necessary.

Implementation Considerations

During implementation, AAFCPAs advises nonprofits to first identify all financial assets and any limitations on the availability of the identified financial assets. Financial assets is defined under U.S. GAAP as cash, contracts to receive cash (i.e. receivables, debt securities), and evidence of equity ownership in another entity (i.e. equity securities). The availability of financial assets may be affected by: (1) its nature, (2) external limits imposed by donors, grantors, laws and contracts with others, and (3) internal limits imposed by governing board decisions.
AAFCPAs strongly recommends that nonprofits establish written liquidity policy and procedures that reflects the new standard. Items that should be included in this policy are as follows:

Procedures to identify financial assets and assess the availability of each financial asset to meet cash needs for general expenditures within one year of the statement of financial position date. Items usually not available for general expenditures include certain board-designated funds, donor restricted funds for particular purposes or periods beyond one year, donor-advised funds, cash restricted for capital projects, and investments held in annuity trusts.
Process to identify liquidity risks and strategies and actions taken to manage liquidity needs; for example, access to lines of credit or other financing sources, or to establish liquidity reserves or short-term investments. A liquidity reserve is not required under the new standard but if a nonprofit decides to set up a liquidity reserve as part of its liquidity management plan, specific disclosure in the financial statements is required. In the liquidity policy, the nonprofit will need to define the purpose and intention of the designation for the liquidity reserve, if any, and whether or not it will be used to support the general expenditures within one year, or unanticipated future liquidity needs.

Nonprofits should also determine the best way to disclose the liquidity information in the financial statements. Nonprofits may choose to present the required disclosures in either a table format, and/or text format in the notes to the financial statements. In addition, if a table format is preferred, nonprofits have two options to display the balance of financial assets available within one year from the statement of financial positon date for general expenditures:

Display the gross amount of financial assets, then adjustments to arrive at the balance available for general expenditures
Display only the net amounts available for general expenditures

AAFCPAs is available to advise clients on reviewing and updating accounting policies and procedures to reflect any changes, including solutions for processing information and producing financial reporting in line with the new reporting standard. Learn more. >>
If you have any additional questions about how the new ASU will impact you, please contact Matt Hutt, CPA, CGMA, at 774.512.4043, mhutt@nullaafcpa.com; Hui-Ting Grady, CPA, at 774.512.4106, hgrady@nullaafcpa.com; or your AAFCPAs Partner.

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About the Authors

Matthew Hutt, CPA, CGMA

Matt leads AAFCPAs’ Healthcare Division, providing assurance, tax and advisory solutions for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), behavioral health providers, home care agencies and hospices, nursing homes, and senior care living centers. Matt advises healthcare providers on consolidation and coordination of care, including the integration of behavioral health into the primary care delivery system. He also provides consulting solutions for providers transitioning to new value-based reimbursement models, and data driven patient care, including: developing business process and controls for collecting and advantaging data to provide analysis on: provider activity, delivery of care, and analysis of efficiency & cost effectiveness. Matt is also highly-sought after for his knowledge on issues related to affordable housing developers with requirements related to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, MassHousing, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Historical Tax Credits and New Markets Tax Credits.

Hui-Ting Grady, CPA

Hui-Ting has extensive experience providing assurance solutions to diverse nonprofit organizations, including: affordable housing development projects with HUD requirements, multi-service human & social services providers, and behavioral health agencies. She delivers audits in accordance with Uniform Guidance/Single Audit and Government Auditing Standards, as well as Uniform Financial Report (UFR) and other funding source regulations. Hui-Ting is a member of AAF’s Accounting and Assurance (A&A) Committee, and Revenue Recognition Task Force. She is dedicated to keeping the firm and clients apprised of regulatory changes and new pronouncements in a proactive and timely manner, as well as providing best practice recommendations for efficient and effective implementations of new accounting standards.