Book excerpt: A complete and easy to understand guide to the fundamentals of how not-for-profit organizations are formed and run, as well as their structure and the unique accounting and reporting issues they face. Providing you with a comprehensive understanding of how to maintain the "books" of a typical nonprofit entity and comply with numerous reporting requirements, The Simplified Guide to Not-for-Profit Accounting, Formation & Reporting equips you with everything you need to know to form a Not-For-Profit, setup an accounting system, record financial transactions and report to donors and regulatory bodies. Topics include: Step-by-step guide to forming a Not-For-Profit and applying for tax exemption Becoming familiar with unique Not-For-Profit accounting rules such as classifying contributions/grants and recording restrictions, allocation of expenses to programs and supporting services and investment classification and reporting Budget development, payroll processing and accounting for personnel costs Shows how to prepare and understand required Not-For-Profit financial statement and their components Provides you with a broad understanding of the numerous filing requirement required by donors, grantors and government regulatory agencies Practical and comprehensive in scope, The Simplified Guide to Not-for-Profit Accounting, Formation & Reporting offers a wealth of practical information to accountants and non-accountants alike for understanding Not-For-Profit financial transactions, financial statements and the many internal and external reports they must prepare.