Nonprofit CPA in Phoenix, AZ
Audits, nonprofit bookkeeping, grant reporting, Form 990 and fractional CFO support for Phoenix organizations whose programs are growing faster than their finance teams.
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Nonprofit CPA services in Phoenix, AZ for organizations taking on more
When a nonprofit adds a program, the financial work usually grows faster than the people doing it. A new grant brings its own reporting schedule, a restricted gift has to be tracked apart from everything else, and the board wants a straight answer to a simple question: what can we actually afford?
RTN CPA is a certified public accounting firm serving nonprofit organizations, government agencies and districts, and small businesses. As a nonprofit CPA for Phoenix, AZ organizations, we provide audits and reviews, nonprofit accounting and bookkeeping, grant reporting support, Form 990 preparation and fractional CFO help, with one aim: records that support both management's decisions and the independent reporting a funder, lender or board may require.
Audit engagements are led by Roman Richardson, CPA, who has more than 20 years of experience focused on nonprofit organizations and governmental districts. Paul J. Stroub, CPA, leads tax work. RTN CPA is based in California and offers its services to Phoenix-area organizations remotely, through secure file upload and scheduled calls.
Before you agree to an audit deadline
Audited financial statements can be requested by a grantmaker, a government funder, a lender or your own board. Before accepting a timeline, confirm what is being asked for: an audit, a review or a Single Audit, for which fiscal year, and by what date.
In Arizona the request rarely comes from a charity regulator. The state stopped registering charities with the Secretary of State when House Bill 2457 took effect on September 13, 2013; only veterans' organizations soliciting in the name of veterans still file there. The requirement usually comes instead from a grant agreement, a government contract, federal award spending, a loan or a board policy.
- financial statement audits for nonprofits
- Single Audits of federal awards under 2 CFR 200, Subpart F
- compliance audits of specific awards and contracts
- a review or compilation where no audit is required
- written internal control observations for the board
Preparation is mostly a matter of evidence: support for significant transactions, a schedule of each grant's revenue and spending, the method behind functional expense allocations, and the reasoning for significant estimates such as uncollectible pledges or donated services. Assembled during the year, these make fieldwork faster.
An audit gives reasonable assurance and includes testing of the underlying records; a review gives limited assurance and relies mainly on inquiry and analytical procedures. If the agreement says audit, a review will not meet it.
If RTN CPA keeps your books or fills a finance role for you, we evaluate the AICPA independence rules before accepting your audit, and sometimes another firm needs to perform it.
Tracking grants and federal award spending
Federal, state, local and private awards each set their own rules for allowable costs, documentation and reporting deadlines. Money that reaches you through a state agency, the county or a city can still be federal money, and its federal requirements travel with it. Note the federal program behind each subaward when the award is set up, not at year end.
The federal Single Audit applies once a nonprofit expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 2024 ($750,000 for earlier fiscal years). The measure is federal award money spent during your fiscal year, not total revenue or the face value of an award, so a multi-year grant can cross the line in one year and not the next.
- budgets and supporting files kept award by award
- allowable-cost review before charges are posted
- Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) support
- internal controls over grant charges and reports
- reconciling each grant report to the general ledger
What Arizona asks of a nonprofit each year
Form 990 is public, so inconsistencies show. We prepare it from the same records as your financial statements, so program descriptions, functional expenses and governance answers agree.
Arizona's own list is short. Since tax year 2018, the Arizona Department of Revenue no longer requires Arizona Form 99 or copies of the federal Form 990 from organizations exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501; an organization with unrelated business taxable income files Arizona Form 99T. A nonprofit corporation files an annual report with the Arizona Corporation Commission by its assigned due date ($10 fee).
One rule is easy to miss: Arizona has no overall nonprofit exemption from transaction privilege tax. According to the Department of Revenue, sales to a nonprofit, such as hotel stays, venue rentals and catering, are typically taxable unless a specific statutory exemption applies.
- Form 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF
- Schedule A public support calculations
- unrelated business income review and Form 990-T
- coordination with Arizona Form 99T when a 990-T is filed
- functional expense reporting tied to the ledger
Bookkeeping that keeps up as programs are added
A new program adds a funding source to follow, staff time to divide and a report to deliver. A monthly close the team can repeat keeps that from piling up: accounts reconciled, grant spending tied to program records, and gifts with donor restrictions kept apart from unrestricted activity.
If you are certified, or plan to apply, as a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona's charitable tax credit, the books carry one more test. Under A.R.S. 43-1088, a QCO must spend or direct at least 50% of its budget on services to Arizona residents who receive TANF benefits, are low-income or have a chronic illness or physical disability, and its certification to the Department of Revenue reports the prior year's budget and the amount spent on those services. Coding expenses by program and population served lets the records support that figure.
- monthly bookkeeping, reconciliations and close
- restricted fund tracking and release of restrictions
- program and grant coding in the chart of accounts
- program spending reports for QCO certification
- financial statements formatted for board review
Approvals, forecasts and reports the board can read
As a budget grows, informal habits stop working. The executive director who once approved every payment no longer sees every invoice, and board reports get longer while answering less. Written approval limits, a second review of payments and reconciliations, and a fixed board reporting calendar keep oversight in step with the organization's size.
A fractional CFO or controller adds the forward-looking work: a cash forecast that reflects when reimbursements and gifts actually arrive, budgets built program by program, and a board package that explains variances. For bigger questions, such as taking on a large contract or opening a second site, our consulting and advisory services cover the analysis.
- internal controls review sized to your staff
- approval limits and payment review
- cash forecasting with reimbursement timing
- program budgets and budget-to-actual reports
- fractional CFO and controller services
Signs the books are falling behind the growth
Growth tends to expose these first. Each one starts small and gets harder to unwind every month it continues.
- New grants added without their own codes or reporting calendar
- Restricted gifts recorded as general revenue and never released
- Federal money received through a state agency or city not identified as federal
- Event and purchase budgets that leave out Arizona transaction privilege tax
- Board reports with a cash balance but no view of restricted funds or program results
None of these is unusual, and all of them can be corrected. The cost grows with time, because every report already filed has to be explained or revised.
A clear starting point, whatever prompted the call
Some organizations call because an audit deadline is already set. Others know only that reports are late, donations are hard to track or the board is uneasy about cash. Either is a reasonable place to start.
Bring your latest financial statements, any audit request, open grant agreements and recent Forms 990 to the first conversation, and we will recommend a service and a realistic order of work after checking independence and Arizona's rules for out-of-state CPA firms. As a firm, RTN CPA has more than 25 years of experience and more than 100 audits completed.
- a first call about your funding, records and deadlines
- a short document list sent through secure upload
- a written engagement letter that sets the scope
- findings explained in plain language to staff and the board
No outcome is promised in advance, because an audit opinion depends on what the records show. What we can give you early is a clear read on the gaps.
Go straight to the service you need
Know which service fits? Start here:
Nonprofits in Phoenix and across the Valley
This page is for nonprofits in Phoenix and elsewhere in Maricopa County, from Scottsdale and Tempe to Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, with engagements handled remotely. RTN CPA also offers its services to nonprofits in these markets:
Start with the records you already have
Whatever is due first, an audit, a grant report, a bookkeeping catch-up or the Form 990, the first step is the same: compare the records you have with the obligation in front of you.
Tell us your annual budget, your main funding sources and what is due in the next six months. We will recommend the engagement that fits and confirm whether RTN CPA can provide it for an Arizona organization.
Nonprofit CPA questions from the Phoenix area
Do you have an office in Phoenix?
No. RTN CPA has no office or staff in Arizona. It is a California firm with addresses in Los Angeles and Roseville, and it serves organizations outside California through secure file upload and scheduled video or phone meetings. Arizona 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 every Phoenix nonprofit need a financial statement audit?
No. Arizona has no statewide charity registration that sets audit thresholds, so the requirement, if there is one, comes from your federal award spending, the terms of your grants and government contracts, a lender or your board. Read each agreement for the engagement it names; some accept a review, others require an audit.
What is the Single Audit threshold, and does pass-through money count?
For fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024, a nonprofit that expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in the fiscal year needs a Single Audit (or, in limited cases, a program-specific audit); for earlier fiscal years the threshold was $750,000. Federal money received through an Arizona state agency, a county or a city counts, and the test is spending, not revenue or award size.
How is fund accounting different from regular bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping records what came in and went out. Fund accounting also tracks which resources carry donor or grant restrictions, for what purpose and for how long, so management can see what each program can actually use and report net assets with and without donor restrictions.
Can you prepare our Form 990, and what does Arizona require?
Yes. Nonprofit tax and Form 990 preparation is one of our services, and the right return depends on your tax status, size and activities. Arizona does not ask for a copy: since tax year 2018, the Department of Revenue no longer requires Arizona Form 99 or the federal return from section 501 exempt organizations, though Arizona Form 99T applies to unrelated business taxable income.
We are not ready for a full-time CFO. What are the options?
A fractional controller or CFO can handle budgeting, cash forecasting, internal controls and board reporting part-time, alongside your bookkeeper. If you will also need an audit, decide early which firm performs it, because independence rules limit the finance work your auditor can do for you.
Call (888) 616-8070 or schedule a consultation to get started.
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