Reading Your Form 990

Lorraine Petrakis, who owns NANA's own budget, reserve policy, and 990 filing, teaches associations how to read the form their own board and members will ask about. She joined NANA in 2019 from a museum consortium, after reviewing 990 filings for member institutions there for a decade.

What each part discloses, and which lines a journalist or a member is most likely to ask about first. Covers governance disclosures in Part VI, the section boards most often skip when they read a 990 for the first time.

Why the public-support test matters for a 501(c)(3), and what changes if an organization is closer to the line than its board realizes. Applies most directly to the NANA Foundation, which reports separately from NANA's own 501(c)(6) filing.

How an association discloses executive compensation on its 990, and what counts as reportable versus what doesn't. Walks through the disclosure NANA itself files each year for its five most highly compensated staff.

The errors Lorraine Petrakis has seen most often reviewing peer associations' filings: misclassified program versus management expense, and a missing related-organization disclosure. Both are easy for a preparer to miss and easy for a board member to ask about once flagged.

Finance staff and board treasurers at 501(c)(6) and 501(c)(3) associations who prepare or review a 990 but don't file it themselves, including audit-committee members at smaller associations without a dedicated finance department. Pairs with the Reading Your Form 990 guide.

• Explain what each part of Form 990 discloses

• Apply the public-support test to a 501(c)(3) filing

• Identify what counts as reportable executive compensation

• Spot the most common filing mistakes before a board sees them