The IRS for Non-Profit Organizations - Essay Example

According to laws and theory, the board of directors working in any nonprofit organization is in charge and responsible for the accountability of the organization’s policies. The individuals working in a nonprofit organization are motivated by the fact that they serve the members of the community. They feel satisfied for serving the community although they may not get as much compensation as the members of other profit organizations.

IRS believes that the better the governance of the tax exempted firms the more their compliance will be increased (Schuster, 2011). The IRS has been interested in finding that how non-profit organizations (tax exempted) govern themselves. The theory behind the governance is that well-governed organizations often comply with the tax laws, safeguard their assets and smoothly carry forward their charitable mission than organizations with law control.

In 2007, Good governance Practice for 501 (c) (3) was published by the IRS which consisted of guidelines for the non-profit organization on how they may increase their accountability, their transparency policies, achieve regulatory compliance, and can carry on with their status of tax exemption. IRS released several different materials regarding the topic of governance.  Recently IRS is conducting training sessions for IRS personnel who are working in non-profit organizations (Nonprofit Governance and the IRS, 2010).

The role of board members in non-profit organizations has been important. To meet the needs of the society and to work within the limited resources the board members must work towards strategies and leadership whose main focus is financial sustainability in the organization. It must be a difficult task for the board members to bring their organization to the speed of the current governance practices (Boards and Governance, 2013).

The United States Congress and IRS have shown interest in the regulation of non-profit organizations. The IRS suggests that the activities of the tax exempted organizations must be by its tax exempted purpose. The board of directors of such organizations must be in charge of monitoring that whether or not the organization is working by the policies and purpose of its establishment. The statement written by the non-profit organization in its application for tax exemption must be clear.

The board of directors must act within their full capacity for achieving the goals of the tax-exempt organizations. Any conflict that may prevail in the organization must be addressed by the board of directors. The boards of directors are the most valuable sources of the tax exempted organization according to the IRS.

The policies of the tax exempted organization must be transparent so that it must be held accountable for its actions. The filing of the tax exempted organization with the IRS must be correct and accurate. There must be transparency in their mission of establishment. Certain filings of the tax exempted organization must be stated on their official website for review by the general public.

IRS has shown interest in paying closer attention to the fundraising activities of the tax exempted organization. IRS has allocated the duty of the board of directors to regularly monitor all the fundraising activities taking place in the organization. The IRS has also mentioned that the board of directors must make sure that all the solicitation that is being provided during the fundraising activity is correct, accurate, truthful, and honest. The IRS also gave attention to the cost incurred by the tax-exempting firm in arranging the fundraising events and the actual funds collected as a result of the events arranged.