Nonprofit Accounting & Advisory Services

Audit & Assurance

Our knowledgeable nonprofit CPA team offers a full range of assurance services, including compilations, reviews, and audits. Most, but not all, 501(c)(3) organizations in Illinois are required to be audited. Many nonprofits, often opt to have regular audits in order to build transparency and trust. Audits may also be required in the event that your organization received government grants. 

Our nonprofit audit team works with as little disruption to your organization as possible to provide the third-party assessment you need, reviewing your organization’s financial records and internal control systems. A full audit — the most rigorous assurance service — ensures that your organization’s financial statements are properly and accurately stated and in accordance with the appropriate accounting principles.

As a value-add to our nonprofit assurance work, CJBS offers operations improvement consulting. We identify any gaps in your internal controls and accounting systems, including small holes that can add up to big losses, and make recommendations for implementing more efficient and effective processes. 

Consulting

From collaborating with your nonprofit’s legal team, when appropriate, to advising you on whether to include board members in the internal controls process, the CJBS team works alongside you as a trusted advisor. The CJBS team also provides our recommendation of best practices to ensure a concise and complete control environment. 

Outsourced Services

Whether you need help with nonprofit bookkeeping or need higher-end fractional (part-time or contract) CFO or controller services, the CJBS team can help you make strategic business decisions, manage your finances, and tell your nonprofit’s “story” to stakeholders. 

Accounting & Financial Services

Many people mistakenly think that nonprofits don’t actually make a profit. At CJBS, we understand how vital it is for your nonprofit to make money, which you can then reinvest in your mission-based business. 

As a nonprofit, you need impeccable accounting for a variety of reasons, including to raise funds, present financial information to your board members and other stakeholders, avoid trouble with the IRS, and facilitate audits. CJBS’s white-glove nonprofit bookkeeping and CPA services ensure that your books are always timely and clean.

Tax Preparation & Planning 

As a nonprofit, you face higher IRS scrutiny and more stringent rules and regulations than most industries. What’s more, your tax returns are available to the public. To avoid problems like missing out on grant opportunities, facing reputational damage, or even losing your tax-exempt status, it’s essential that your IRS Form 990 is completed properly. CJBS has more than 30 years of expertise in nonprofit tax preparation, and we ensure that you comply with all standards and remain in good standing. Beyond compliance, we work collaboratively with your nonprofit on tax planning, on an interim and annual basis, so you can build your assets and serve the community for generations to come. The following are some of the key elements that should be considered:

• Engaging our tax team to help establish and safeguard the tax-exempt status of the organization
• Ensuring that information returns are prepared to highlight the organizations missions and accomplishments
• Minimizing the exposure to liabilities from the issues such as unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) and lobbying expenditures
• Providing high-quality assurance services relating to financial reporting and grant compliance