Benchmark of Methods Used to Manage Endowment Accounting
NEEDHAM, Mass., June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — AccuFund, Inc. (www.accufund.com), provider of top-rated nonprofit accounting and fundraising solutions, shared its results from a commissioned survey conducted by publisher Nonprofit PRO of its readers (nonprofit finance professionals and top organization management) to benchmark the methods used to manage endowment accounting.
Endowment Survey Infographic: http://www.accufund.com/pdf15/AFEndowment2015Infographic.pdf
The 2015-2016 Endowment Accounting Insights & Analysis Survey sought information central to endowment accounting management, including the frequency of fund statement reports, the systems used to manage finances, and specific software features used to manage endowments. With 272 endowment professionals responding, the vast majority of organizations (83%) manage endowments less than $100 million.
The Quest for 'Just Right' Continues
Each nonprofit or foundation is unique and utilizing a system that is 'just right' is one of the biggest challenges. A significant number of respondents, 35.5% indicate using Excel or QuickBooks which are reliant on manual intervention. An even larger share of respondents, 55% use the organization's accounting system or a third party investment advisor.
In spite of endowment management solutions available, only 10% of respondents use in-house or cloud-based endowment management software.
Lack of Technology Affects Frequency of Fund Statement Reports
Nearly half (47%) of all respondents only provide annual fund statement reports. Another 17% of respondents reported that they never provide fund statement reports.
"Overall the state of periodic fund reporting is bleak. However, 18% of the respondents are providing quarterly or semi-annually fund statement reports, and 5% of respondents are providing monthly fund statement reports; which may indicate that dynamic and growing endowment funds see the value in more frequent reporting. What may be preventing other organizations from providing more frequent reporting is the complexity and difficulty of reporting or lack of an appropriate endowment management software solution," explains Peter Stam, AccuFund's President.
Other Data and Key Findings
Other key findings of the 2015-2016 Endowment Accounting Insights & Analysis Survey include:
- Nearly half (46%) of all respondents have not made a change in their spending policy because of the changing investment environment.
- Only 40% of respondents said their existing endowment accounting software handles specific named fund exceptions to standard spending policies.
- Only 32% of respondents indicated their existing endowment accounting software can handle multiple fee policies such as endowment size, historical changes, negotiated rate, etc.
AccuFund has made an Infographic available highlighting these results.
View the 2015-2016 Endowment Accounting Insights & Analysis Survey Infographic at www.accufund.com/EAsurvey
About AccuFund
AccuFund, Inc. provides top-rated financial solutions designed specifically for nonprofits, foundations and government entities, available as cloud (software as a service) or on-premise. The Accounting Suite includes all modules organizations expect, plus specialized modules such as Endowment Accounting, Grants Management and Allocations. For more information, call 877-872-2228, email sales@accufund.com or visit www.accufund.com/EA.
Contact:
Peter J. Stam, President
AccuFund, Inc.
400 Hillside Ave.
Needham, MA 02494
Phone: 781-433-0233 Fax: 781-453-0460
Email