The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee’s purpose is to assist the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) on maintaining and improving the accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations (NFPOs) in Part III of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting and in identifying the need for non-authoritative guidance about the standards. The Committee makes recommendations to the AcSB but is not authorized to interpret or provide authoritative guidance on accounting standards for NFPOs.
This document has been prepared by the staff of the AcSB and is based on discussions during the Committee’s meeting. The meeting notes do not necessarily represent the views of the AcSB and nothing in them constitutes authoritative guidance on acceptable or unacceptable application of accounting standards for NFPOs. Only the AcSB can make such a determination.
Contributions
The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee discussed proposals to be included in the new exposure draft on recognition of restricted contributions and related matters. The Committee received a summary of the feedback from targeted outreach with 94 interested and affected parties, as well as results from a survey completed by 237 respondents. This input and the Committee’s discussion focused on proposals related to the definitions of a restricted contribution and endowment contribution, the recognition of contribution revenue using the restricted fund method, and the fund accounting presentation requirements.
Definition of “restricted contribution”
The Committee discussed the significant areas of feedback received on the definition of a “restricted contribution”, as well as staff’s proposed revised definition. Committee members provided feedback on proposals to clarify when a restriction has been explicitly communicated and who can impose restrictions on a contribution, including restrictions imposed by third parties or laws and regulations. The Committee also provided feedback on removing time-based restrictions from the definition of a restricted contribution and instead addressing contributions for use in future periods as a separate recognition issue.
Improvements to the restricted fund method of recognizing contributions
The Committee discussed feedback regarding issues with recognition of contributions under the restricted fund method and proposals to address these concerns. Specifically, the Committee discussed eliminating the option to apply the deferral method in the general fund when applying restricted fund method for contributions with purpose restrictions. Some Committee members agreed with requiring immediate recognition of restricted contributions under the restricted fund method (except for contributions designated for use in a future period). Other Committee members thought a hybrid approach, where restricted contributions with certain characteristics would be deferred, would produce more useful information.
Recognition of capital asset contributions
The Committee discussed feedback on recognition of capital asset contributions under the restricted fund method. It provided feedback on presentation of a capital fund and net assets invested in capital assets. The Committee generally agreed that capital asset contributions should be recognized immediately in income when applying the restricted fund method.
Fund accounting presentation
The Committee discussed feedback on a proposal to provide guidance on what funds should be presented on the face of the income statement when applying the deferral method or the restricted fund method of accounting for contributions. Views among Committee members on the extent of guidance that should be provided in this area were mixed.
Definition of an “endowment contribution”
The Committee discussed feedback on the definition of an “endowment contribution”, as well as the AcSB’s tentative decision that the definition of “endowment contribution” should include only contributions that are permanently restricted. The Committee supported the proposed definition and the proposal to require enhanced disclosure requirements on restricted contributions that would not meet the permanency criterion. Committee members had mixed views on the extent of the disclosures an organization should provide.
The Committee also agreed with the AcSB’s tentative decision that assessing permanency is an area of professional judgment and that additional guidance should be provided in the exposure draft to help organizations make this judgment. A few Committee members noted that providing examples in grey-area situations would be most helpful. The Committee discussed the application of the definition of an endowment contribution under several fact patterns.
Committee members expressed mixed views on staff’s proposal to replace the term “endowment” in Part III of the Handbook. The Committee acknowledged that there is confusion around the use of the term “endowment” given its use outside of financial reporting. However, while some Committee members welcomed the clarification that a change in terminology would bring, other members noted that the term is widely used across the sector and would likely continue to be used even if it is removed from Part III of the Handbook.
Finally, the Committee discussed transitional relief with respect to the clarified definition of an endowment contribution. Some Committee members disagreed with staff’s proposal to provide an option not to apply the clarified definition retrospectively to endowment contributions that were recognized before the date the new standard is first applied; however, other members thought staff should continue exploring some form of transitional relief. Committee members who did not support extensive transition relief noted the current definition of an endowment contribution already includes the permanency criterion and it would be hard to justify allowing entities not to correct past errors in assessing whether that criterion was met.
The AcSB will consider input from the Committee and from other outreach activities at future meetings as it continues to develop the new exposure draft.
Reporting Controlled and Related Entities
The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee discussed the AcSB’s project to make improvements to Section 4450, Reporting Controlled and Related Entities by NFPOs. This project seeks to improve the transparency for financial statement users when reviewing the relationships organizations have with related and controlled entities.
The Committee discussed the AcSB’s decision to expand the scope of the project to include re-evaluating the approach for identifying and assessing relationships with related entities in Section 4450 and other options to simplify the application of the standard. The Committee also discussed potential approaches to be explored in a consultation paper for identifying and assessing relationships between NFPOs, as well as relationships between NFPOs and for-profit enterprises.
The Committee will continue discussing topics to be explored in a consultation paper at a future meeting.
Detailed Review of Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE)
The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee discussed application issues for not-for-profit entities applying the requirements in Section 3063 Impairment of Long-lived Assets, Section 3065, Leases, Section 3400, Revenue, Section 3462, Employee Future Benefits, and Section 3840, Related Party Transactions, that might be addressed through the AcSB’s Detailed Review of ASPE project. The AcSB intends to use this feedback to help draft a consultation paper. The Board will discuss the Committee’s feedback at its December 2024 meeting.
Financial Statement Concepts
The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee continued discussions related to the AcSB’s project to improve Section 1001, Financial Statement Concepts for NFPOs, in Part III of the Handbook. The Committee provided feedback on whether each of the following topics from the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) Conceptual Framework would be fit for purpose for Canadian NFPOs:
- the objectives of general purpose financial reporting;
- qualitative characteristics of useful financial information; and
- financial statements and the entity.
The Committee noted that the updated terminology and provisions in the IASB’s Conceptual Framework could enhance preparers’ and practitioners’ understanding of financial statement concepts. These improvements may lead to greater consistency in applying the standards outlined in Part III of the Handbook and aid the AcSB in the standard-setting process. The Committee also provided feedback on potential modifications and revisions to ensure these topics are suitable for Canadian NFPOs. The Committee identified differences between users of NFPO financial statements and users of for-profit financial statements prepared under Part II of the Handbook, which will need to be considered when developing the updated concepts.
The AcSB will discuss the Committee’s feedback at its meeting in November 2024.
For more information on the background and benefits of the Financial Statement Concepts project, please visit the following webpage: “What You Need to Know about Financial Statement Concepts.”
Amendments to Frameworks in Other Jurisdictions
The Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee considered recent amendments issued in other jurisdictions to assess whether any of the amendments would provide significant benefit to Canadian NFPOs applying Part III of the Handbook. Committee members discussed amendments made to the following frameworks:
- U.S. generally accepted accounting principles issued by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board;
- Public Benefit Entity Standards issued by the New Zealand External Reporting Board;
- Australian Accounting Standards issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board;
- The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice, which provides guidance for financial reporting by U.K. charities; and
- IFRS® Accounting Standards issued by the IASB.
The Committee discussed IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, a new standard issued by the IASB in April 2024. The Committee discussed the aggregation and disaggregation of information, the prevalence of management-defined performance measures, and mandatory subtotals in the statement of operations. As part of this discussion, the Committee considered whether guidance in these areas would benefit organizations applying Part III of the Handbook. The Committee indicated that adding more requirements related to disaggregation and mandatory subtotals may be challenging given the diverse reporting needs of the not-for-profit sector in Canada. The Committee also advised that it is not common for organizations to publicly disclose management-defined performance measures and therefore did not recommend adding guidance in this area.
The Committee also discussed amendments issued by the IASB to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, related to the derecognition of financial liabilities using electronic payment systems. The Committee discussed that the derecognition guidance in Section 3856, Financial Instruments, is similar to the guidance in IFRS 9 before these amendments were issued by the IASB. However, the Committee recommended that the AcSB should not issue guidance on this topic, as it thought the IFRS 9 changes would not cause an issue in the Canadian not-for-profit sector.
Finally, the Committee discussed the amendments issued by the IASB to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, related to the disclosure of contractual terms affecting the timing or amount of cash flows from linked contingent events (such as environmental, social, and governance targets). The Committee indicated that although similar contractual terms are not common in practice for Canadian NFPOs yet, they may become so in the future. The Committee suggested that the AcSB monitor this topic.
The AcSB will consider the Committee’s feedback at its meeting in November 2024.