What is the statement of activities?

The statement of activities is one of the main financial statements of a nonprofit or not-for-profit organization.

A nonprofit’s statement of activities is issued instead of the income statement which is issued by a for-profit business.

The statement of activities focuses on the total organization (as opposed to focusing on funds within the organization) and reports the following:

1. Revenues such as contributions, program fees, membership dues, grants, investment income, and amounts released from restrictions.

2. Expenses reported in categories such as major programs, fundraising, and management and general.

3. The change in net assets resulting from items 1 and 2.

The statement of activities will have multiple columns in order to report the amounts for each of the following classes of net assets: unrestricted, temporarily restricted, permanently restricted, and total.

About the Author: Harold Averkamp (CPA) has worked as an accountant, consultant, and university accounting instructor for more than 25 years.

He is the author of the 2010 Master Accounting Download Package which has been praised for it's ability to simplify accounting in a way that anybody can understand.

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