Nonprofit CPA in Atlanta, GA
Grant accounting, audits, internal controls and fractional CFO support for Atlanta nonprofits that run full programs on lean finance teams and still owe funders clear numbers.
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A nonprofit CPA for Atlanta teams doing more with less
Winning a grant is the easy part to celebrate. Knowing what the program actually costs to deliver is harder. Staff time is split across services, each funder restricts its money differently, and the next reimbursement request depends on timesheets and invoices filed months ago. An organization can be fully occupied with its mission while its financial picture gets harder to explain.
That gap is what RTN CPA focuses on as a nonprofit CPA for Atlanta organizations. We are a certified public accounting firm serving nonprofit organizations, government agencies and districts, and small businesses. For nonprofits in the Atlanta area we provide year-round nonprofit accounting support, audits and reviews, Form 990 preparation and fractional CFO help, all aimed at the same result: records that show where the money went and reports a board can act on.
Audit work is led by Roman Richardson, CPA, who has more than 20 years of experience focused on nonprofit organizations and governmental districts. Tax work is led by Paul J. Stroub, CPA. RTN CPA is based in California, and engagements with Atlanta organizations are handled remotely through secure file upload and scheduled calls.
Audits built on a year of good records
For many Georgia charities, the first formal requirement comes from the Secretary of State. Under the Georgia Charitable Solicitations Act (O.C.G.A. 43-17-5), a registered charity files financial statements with its registration and with each renewal, and the level of CPA involvement depends on how much the organization received or collected in each fiscal year reported.
According to the Secretary of State's Charities Division, more than $1,000,000 in a fiscal year calls for financial statements audited by an independent CPA, and more than $500,000 up to $1,000,000 calls for statements reviewed by an independent CPA. At $500,000 or less, the financial statements do not need to be audited or reviewed. Registrations run for 24 months, so a renewal reports on two fiscal years.
- audits of nonprofit financial statements
- reviews when a funder or a Georgia renewal calls for one
- Single Audits under the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200, Subpart F)
- compliance audits of individual grants and contracts
- reporting of internal control findings to management and the board
Audit preparation goes faster when it is not a separate project. If grant expenses are coded to the right award each month, allocations are documented when they are made, and restricted balances are reconciled at every close, most of the auditor's request list already exists. Organizations that wait until year end tend to rebuild the year under a deadline.
An audit has to stay independent of the work it tests. If RTN CPA keeps your books or acts as your finance lead, we review the AICPA independence rules before taking on your audit, and sometimes the right answer is that another firm performs it. Good year-round accounting makes that audit easier, whoever performs it.
Talk with RTN CPA about getting your organization audit-ready →
Grant accounting that ties back to the ledger
An award letter is only part of the accounting story. Each grant carries its own allowable costs, period of performance, match terms, documentation rules and reporting calendar, and those terms rarely line up across funders. When costs are allocated and supported as they happen, reimbursement requests and year-end reports come straight from the books.
A Georgia agency contract can mix state funds with federal pass-through money, and the two are counted separately. Under O.C.G.A. 50-20-3, a nonprofit that spends $100,000 or more in state funds under state contracts during its fiscal year needs an annual audit, due to the state auditor and each contracting agency within 180 days after year end. Smaller amounts call for financial statements, and less than $25,000 in state awards is exempt (O.C.G.A. 50-20-8). Federal pass-through money counts instead toward a federal Single Audit, required once federal award expenditures reach $1,000,000 in a fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024 ($750,000 for earlier fiscal years).
- award-by-award tracking inside the general ledger
- restricted contribution and net asset tracking
- budget-to-actual reporting by grant and program
- reimbursement request support and documentation files
- schedules of federal and state awards expended
Form 990 and Georgia charity filings
Form 990 is often the first financial document a funder or prospective board member reads, so functional expenses, governance answers and program descriptions should match the financial statements and the general ledger, not estimates pulled together at the deadline.
Georgia ties its charity registration to the same records. The Secretary of State's renewal asks for financial statements and the Form 990 or 990-EZ for the two preceding fiscal years, and Georgia does not accept the 990-N postcard: an organization that files the 990-N submits Georgia Form C-200 instead. We prepare the federal return and help line up the statements a Georgia renewal calls for, so the filings agree with each other.
- Form 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF
- Schedule A public support calculations
- Form 990-T and unrelated business income questions
- functional expense reporting tied to the books
- financial statements and Form C-200 for Georgia renewals
A monthly close your board can use
A useful monthly package answers the questions leadership is already asking. Which programs are running over budget? How much of the cash on hand is restricted? Are reimbursement delays putting pressure on payroll? Are shared costs being split the same way every month?
Getting there is usually a process problem more than a staffing problem. We help organize the chart of accounts around programs and awards, document how shared payroll, rent and overhead are allocated, set a close calendar the team can keep, and build reports that show budget-to-actual results by program.
- monthly bookkeeping, reconciliations and close
- a chart of accounts organized by program and award
- documented allocation of shared payroll and overhead
- restricted fund and net asset tracking
- budget-to-actual reporting by program
- audit-ready schedules kept current through the year
Financial oversight without a full finance department
Many growing nonprofits have one person setting up vendors, paying bills, reconciling accounts and preparing reports. Full segregation of duties is not realistic at that size, but a second approval on payments, independent review of reconciliations and a few written policies can lower the risk without adding staff.
A fractional CFO or controller adds the planning layer: an annual budget built from program plans, a cash forecast that accounts for reimbursement timing, and board and finance committee reports that explain results instead of just listing them. For larger decisions, such as launching a program or changing the funding model, our consulting and advisory services pick up where the monthly work ends.
- fractional CFO and controller services
- internal controls review sized to your staff
- annual budgeting and cash flow forecasting
- board and finance committee reporting
- financial policies and procedures
Where the numbers start to drift
These problems rarely start big. They build month by month while staff attention stays on programs.
- Shared staff time charged to grants by estimate, with no time records behind it
- Reimbursement requests built from spreadsheets that do not match the ledger
- State funds and federal pass-through money recorded in one revenue account
- One employee setting up vendors, approving bills and reconciling the bank account
- Board packets with balances but no budget-to-actual by program
- Charity renewal or audit deadlines noticed a few weeks before they are due
Each of these can be fixed, but the cost rises the longer they run, because corrections reach back through every report filed in the meantime.
What working with RTN CPA looks like
We begin with your funding mix, the condition of your records, the requirements your funders and the state have set, and the deadlines in front of you. From there we recommend the engagement that fits: an audit, a review, ongoing accounting, CFO support, or a combination that respects independence.
Scope is set out in a written engagement letter before work starts. Across the firm, RTN CPA has more than 25 years of experience and has completed more than 100 audits.
- an initial call about your revenue, grants and deadlines
- a written engagement letter with a defined scope
- a document request list before work begins
- findings explained in plain language to staff and the board
No CPA firm can promise a clean opinion or a particular result. We can show you where your records stand and what it will take to be ready.
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Working with nonprofits in metro Atlanta
This page is for nonprofits based in the City of Atlanta and the surrounding metro area, from Decatur and the intown neighborhoods to Sandy Springs, Marietta and nearby communities. RTN CPA also offers its services to nonprofits in these markets:
Talk with RTN CPA about your Atlanta nonprofit
Before the next reimbursement request or renewal deadline, get a clear view of where the money went and what your records support.
Tell us your annual revenue, your funding sources and which reports, audits or filings are coming due. We will recommend the type of engagement that fits, from an audit or review to ongoing accounting or CFO support, and explain what it will take.
Questions about nonprofit accounting in Atlanta
Do you have an office in Atlanta?
No. RTN CPA is a California firm with addresses in Los Angeles and Roseville, and it has no office or staff in Georgia. Work for organizations outside California is handled through our secure file upload and scheduled phone or video meetings. If any part of an engagement would need to happen in person, we address it when we set the scope. Georgia has its own rules for out-of-state CPA firms that perform audits and reviews, and we confirm an engagement meets them before accepting it.
Does a Georgia nonprofit need an audit?
It depends on who is asking. For charity registration and renewal, the Georgia Secretary of State calls for audited financial statements for a fiscal year in which the charity received or collected more than $1,000,000, and reviewed statements for more than $500,000 up to $1,000,000. Spending $100,000 or more in state funds in a fiscal year under Georgia agency contracts requires an annual audit under O.C.G.A. 50-20-3, and a federal Single Audit applies at $1,000,000 in federal award expenditures for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024. Funders, lenders and boards can require more.
Our grant expenses do not reconcile. Where do we start?
Put the grant agreement, the general ledger detail for the award, payroll allocation records, supporting invoices and the reports already submitted side by side. Most differences come down to timing, coding or missing support, and they are far easier to correct before the next report is due than to explain afterward.
How should we split shared costs across programs?
Use a written basis that reflects how each cost is actually used, such as time records for shared staff and square footage for rent, and apply it the same way every month. Review it when programs change and check it against the terms of each grant. The same allocation feeds the functional expense statement and Form 990.
Can we get CFO-level oversight without hiring a full-time CFO?
Yes. A fractional CFO or controller can own the budget, cash forecast, internal controls and board reporting on a part-time basis alongside your current staff. If you will also need an audit, we discuss independence first, before deciding which services RTN CPA should provide.
Call (888) 616-8070 or schedule a consultation to get started.
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