Filing Requirement & Prior-Year Review
Review the organization’s tax year, filing history, prior return, IRS notices, and available information to identify the applicable Form 990-series filing and establish a clear starting point.
Nonprofit Formation, Compliance & Readiness
Form 990 Preparation & Compliance Services
Organize the information. Understand what is being reported. Prepare the annual filing with clarity and confidence.
Form 990 asks your organization to bring together more than financial numbers. It also calls for information about programs, governance, leadership, compensation, and other areas of the organization. When that information is incomplete, unreconciled, or kept in several places, preparing the return can quickly feel overwhelming.
KYNU helps your organization bring the pieces together. We help gather and reconcile the applicable financial information, review organizational and program details, address questions that may need attention, and prepare the appropriate Form 990-series filing. Throughout the process, we help leaders understand what is being reported so the organization can approach the annual filing with greater clarity and confidence.
Talk With KYNU About Form 990 PreparationIs This Service Right for You?
When Form 990 Preparation Support May Be the Right Fit
Preparing the annual filing requires financial and organizational information to be complete, consistent, and ready for review. Form 990 preparation support may be helpful when:
- The organization needs help confirming which Form 990-series filing applies and what information must be gathered.
- Financial records must be reconciled, organized, or reviewed before the annual return can be prepared.
- Program activities, governance information, officer and board details, compensation information, or other required disclosures are maintained in different places and need to be brought together.
- Changes in programs, funding, leadership, organizational structure, or operations must be properly reflected in the current-year filing.
- Leaders or board members want to better understand what is being reported and review the return before it is filed.
- The filing deadline is approaching, one or more annual filings remain outstanding, or the organization needs a more consistent annual preparation process.
Form 990 is more than a tax return. It is one of your organization’s most public documents and an opportunity to tell your organization’s story through its mission, programs, accomplishments, governance, and financial information. An organized preparation process helps leaders understand the return, address questions before filing, and approve the information with greater confidence.
This service may be appropriate for charitable, faith-based, and other tax-exempt organizations with an applicable Form 990-series filing requirement that need practical support organizing information, preparing the return, and maintaining annual filing compliance.
How KYNU Can Help
From Organized Information
to a Well-Prepared Form 990
KYNU helps your organization move through the Form 990 process with greater structure, understanding, and confidence. Depending on the applicable filing and the support included in the service plan, assistance may include:
Financial Information Reconciliation
Organize and reconcile the revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and net asset information needed for the return using the organization’s accounting records and available financial statements.
Organizational & Governance Information
Gather and review information about the organization’s mission, leadership, governing body, policies, compensation, related organizations, and other matters required for the applicable filing.
Program Activities & Accomplishments
Help the organization clearly describe its significant programs, activities, and accomplishments so the return communicates not only how resources were used, but also what the organization worked to achieve.
Return & Schedule Preparation
Prepare the applicable Form 990-series return and required schedules, identify missing or inconsistent information, and address questions requiring additional review.
Leadership Review & Filing
Walk leaders through the completed return, incorporate approved changes, obtain the necessary authorization, complete the applicable filing process, and retain confirmation for the organization’s records.
The Value of a Thoughtful Form 990 Process
A Well-Prepared Form 990
Supports More Than Compliance
A well-prepared Form 990 helps the organization meet an important filing responsibility, but its value extends beyond compliance. The preparation process can help leaders verify financial information, communicate program accomplishments, understand what is being reported, and identify areas that may need attention.
- More Reliable Financial Reporting. Reconciling the return to the organization’s accounting records and available financial statements helps reduce inconsistencies and supports greater confidence in the financial information being reported.
- A Stronger Mission and Impact Story. Thoughtfully prepared program descriptions help readers understand what the organization does, who it serves, and how its work advances the mission. Because funders and donors may review the return, Form 990 can also support fundraising and relationship-building by reinforcing transparency, credibility, and impact.
- Stronger Leadership Understanding. Reviewing the completed return gives leaders and board members an opportunity to understand the financial, governance, program, and organizational information being presented before it is filed.
- Better Annual Compliance Readiness. An organized preparation process helps the organization establish clearer responsibilities, improve recordkeeping, identify information gaps, and prepare more effectively for future filing years.
The goal is not simply to file a return. A thoughtful Form 990 process helps the organization submit information it understands, communicate its work more clearly, and strengthen the practices that support annual compliance.
The KYNU Form 990 Preparation Process
A Practical Process for Organizing Information
and Preparing the Annual Filing
Gather
Collect the prior-year return, accounting records, financial statements, program information, governance details, compensation information, IRS notices, and other documents needed for the applicable filing.
Reconcile
Compare and reconcile the financial information to the organization’s accounting records and available financial statements, identifying differences or unanswered questions that require attention.
Review
Review the organization’s programs, accomplishments, leadership, governance, compensation, related activities, and other required information for completeness and consistency.
Prepare
Prepare the applicable Form 990-series return and required schedules using the financial and organizational information provided, reconciled, and approved by the organization.
Finalize and File
Review the completed return with the organization, incorporate approved corrections, obtain the necessary authorization, complete the applicable filing process, and provide the organization with its final return and filing confirmation.
GATHER → RECONCILE → REVIEW → PREPARE → FINALIZE AND FILE
Getting Started
From Initial Conversation
to Form 990 Preparation and Filing
Getting started begins with a conversation about the organization’s tax year, filing history, available financial and organizational information, applicable deadline, and any questions or changes that may affect the current filing.
Start With a Conversation
Tell us about the organization, its fiscal year, prior Form 990-series filing, accounting records, available financial statements, filing deadline, IRS notices, and any significant program, leadership, governance, or operational changes. KYNU will listen, ask questions, and help identify the appropriate next step.
Define the Form 990 Support
We review the preliminary information and define the support needed, which may include confirming the applicable filing, gathering documents, reconciling financial information, reviewing organizational details, preparing schedules and program narratives, establishing responsibilities, and confirming timing.
Begin the Form 990 Process
Once the service plan is confirmed and the necessary information and records are available, KYNU begins the review, reconciliation, and return-preparation work included in the service plan. Missing information, unresolved differences, and questions requiring additional attention are identified and addressed as the process moves forward.
Important to Know
A Few Important Things to Know
Clear expectations help KYNU and the organization work together productively throughout the Form 990 preparation and filing process.
- The Service Plan Is Confirmed in Advance. Before work begins, KYNU and the organization confirm the filing year, applicable return, financial reconciliation, schedules, program narratives, review process, filing support, responsibilities, timing, and other assistance included in the service plan. Additional work not included in the service plan will be discussed and approved separately.
- The Applicable Filing Depends on the Organization. The appropriate Form 990-series filing depends on factors such as the organization’s tax-exempt classification, gross receipts, assets, activities, and other circumstances. Additional schedules may also be required based on the information reported.
- Complete and Accurate Information Is Essential. The organization is responsible for providing complete and accurate financial and organizational information, responding to questions, identifying relevant activities and transactions, reviewing the prepared return, and obtaining the required approvals and authorizations.
- Some Work May Require Additional Support. Unless specifically included in the service plan, Form 990 preparation does not include extensive bookkeeping cleanup, financial statement audits or reviews, legal advice, or federal and state filings outside the identified Form 990-series return. If additional needs are identified, KYNU will discuss the appropriate next step with the organization.
- Form 990 Is a Public Document. Most Form 990-series returns are available for public inspection. The organization should understand how its mission, programs, accomplishments, governance, and financial information are presented before the return is filed.
- Filing Deadlines Matter. Form 990-series filings are generally due on the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the close of the organization’s tax year. Late or missing filings may result in penalties, and failure to file required annual returns or notices for three consecutive years generally results in automatic revocation of federal tax-exempt status.
Let’s Take the Next Step
Ready to Prepare Your Form 990 With Greater Confidence?
If your organization is approaching its annual filing deadline, working through unreconciled information, or looking for a more organized preparation process, you do not have to manage every step alone. KYNU can help bring the financial and organizational information together, address questions that need attention, prepare the applicable Form 990-series filing, and help leaders understand what is being submitted.
Talk With KYNU About Form 990 PreparationClarity in Your Numbers. Power in Your Decisions.