International Journal of Accounting and Taxation

Volunteer Valuation -- Incorporating Volunteer Capacity into Nonprofit Financial Reporting: A Research Service Learning Project
Karen A. Maguire

Abstract
The objective of this project is to evaluate options that allow Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) to: - Incorporate contributions of volunteers into an NPO’s accounting system;
- Provide recommendations for auditing assertions of volunteer contributions;
- Incorporate volunteer hours into the financial reporting process;
- Demonstrate increased and sustained capacity to both internal and external stakeholders;
- Incorporate different rates for different volunteer work;
- Tie results with the Unified Chart of Accounts since it is compatible with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, United Way, Internal Revenue Service Form 990, and the United States Office of Management and Budget federal grant reporting;
and
- Show how including volunteer hours in financial statements helps Grantmakers understand an NPO’s true capacity.
The process presented in this paper allows NPOs to reduce the costs associated with hiring an auditor while achieving best practices. This allows NPOs to value their volunteers and demonstrate their successful and sustainable capacity building efforts to stakeholders. When NPOs can demonstrate their true capacity, this increases opportunities to obtain additional funding, including those types of funding which require audits. The opposite of a vicious cycle, it is a capacity cycle that leads to greater output, outcomes, impact, and capacity building.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijat.v3n1a3