Part XII: Audited vs Reviewed/Compiled Financial Statements

[Rduguay]

On the form 990, under Part XII:
• Question 2a asks, “were the organization’s financial statements compiled or reviewed by an independent accountant?”
• Question 2b asks “were the organization’s financial statements audited by an independent accountant?”

In table [Part XII] of the database, there is a field called [FSAudited]. One might think this field corresponds to the answer to question 2b of part XII. However, according to the data dictionary, the field called [FSAudited] indicates whether the organization’s financial statements have been compiled or reviewed. In other words, the name of the field suggests it corresponds to question 2b, while the definition in the data dictionary suggests it corresponds to question 2a.

One solution is to include fields for both questions 2a and 2b.