ch12.doc Page 17
ESSAYS (CHAPTER 12)
1. For each of the cases below, state whether the contributed services would be recognized and,
if so, how much would be recognized and how it would be recognized. Explain your answer
in terms of the existing standards. Also explain why, in your opinion, the standards permit or
prohibit recognition of this particular type of contribution.
a. A church votes to construct a new educational wing on its existing facility. The church
will hire an architect to design the new wing and a construction supervisor to oversee the
construction. Church members will provide most of the labor for the construction.
Labor donated by members who have construction experience or who are considered
professional craftsmen at the prevailing wage for their trade or craft is $500,000. Labor
donated by persons possessing non-building specialized skills (doctors, teachers, lawyers,
etc.) at their prevailing wage rates is $700,000. Labor donated by non-professionals
measured at the minimum wage is $300,000. The appraised value of the building when
completed is $3 million. The architect was paid $700,000, the construction supervisor
was paid $50,000 and the materials purchased for use in the building cost $1 million.
b. An investment advisor, a member of the board of No Fleas Please, a not-for-profit animal
care organization, provides pro bono investment advice to NFP. NFP does not have a
particularly large investment portfolio and, without the advice of the board member, NFP
probably would invest its idle cash in certificates of deposit at an insured commercial
bank to protect itself against loss of principal. If the investment advisor had provided
similar services to his customers he would have charged $2,000.
c. Members of a religious order provide professional nursing services for a healthcare
facility that is run by their order. The members are not compensated but their order
provides lodging, food, and other necessities, the cost of which is paid by the healthcare
entity and classified as nursing services expense. At the end of the year the balance in the
nursing services expense account is $3 million. The value of the nursing services
provided, measured at the prevailing wage for nurses, is $5 million.
2. A generous benefactor pledges $1 million to The R. J. Smith Foundation, a not-for-profit
entity that promotes the arts. The gift is to be used to provide scholarships for talented
musicians at a music camp operated by the Foundation. The gift was given in August 2013 to
support the Summer 2014 music program. The foundation director argues that the gift is a
conditional restricted gift and therefore cannot be recognized as revenue in 2013. The
accountant argues that the gift is an unconditional restricted gift and must be recognized in
the current year. What is the basis for the director’s argument? What is the basis for the
accountant’s argument? In your answer provide an explanation of the terms conditional,
unconditional, restricted and unrestricted.
3. Per FASB standards, not-for-profits must classify their net assets into three classes. What is
the basis for distinguishing the three classes? What is the rationale for this basis? How is
each class defined?
4. What is a charitable remainder trust? How should it be accounted for?