Accounting Business Reporting for Decision Making

CHAPTER 3 Business structures 91

REALITY CHECK

Not-for-profit entities

The feature common to all NFPs is that they are not set up to generate a return for their members. That said,

NFPs can and do generate profit or surplus. However, any profit or surplus cannot be distributed to members.

Beyond this common feature, the differences in legal form, size, type and objectives are numerous. The legal

form of NFPs can be very different. Many are informal associations that are created by like-minded individuals

with a common purpose, and do not take a particular legal form. These are commonly referred to as unincor-

porated associations. Some NFPs are formed as an incorporated association under state or territory laws, as

companies limited by guarantee, or indigenous corporations under Commonwealth corporations law. Other

legal structures include trusts and cooperatives. More information on some of the statutory requirements rel-

evant to NFPs is provided in the CPA Australia guides, Charities: A guide to financial reporting and assurance

requirements and Incorporated associations: Reporting and auditing obligations.

Charities form one distinct subset of NFPs, with their objectives being primarily of a charitable nature.

The legal meaning of charity includes the charitable purposes of relieving poverty, sickness or the needs

of the aged, advancing education, advancing religion, and other purposes beneficial to the community.

Examples that would fall within the other purposes category include providing not-for-profit childcare

services, advancing arts and culture, health, promoting animal welfare and protecting the environ-

ment. An overwhelming majority of NFPs are not charities and they can exist for the exclusive benefit

of members, or to serve a specific group of people, community or purpose. Examples include clubs

formed for a social, recreational or sporting purpose, and professional and trade associations.

Laws and regulations

The activities NFPs are involved in often have a profound social and economic impact and some NFP

entities such as charities exist solely to engage in activities that are for the public benefit. Many NFP

entities rely on financial support from government and the philanthropy of private benefactors to achieve

their objectives. As a result of these unique attributes, laws and regulatory frameworks have been devel-

oped over the years by state, territory and Commonwealth governments to regulate the NFP sector.

Some of these laws include provisions setting out governance and reporting requirements.

Why are financial statements required?

Depending on the structure of the NFP, its governing legislation may require periodic financial reporting

as part of its governance obligations. Funding providers (both private and government) often require

financial statements as part of their acquittal process. Members and other stakeholders can also impose

financial reporting obligations through an NFP’s constitution or other means. Financial statements are

also used for internal purposes by the management and staff. However, the needs of internal users and

those of external users, for whom this guide has been written, are not necessarily the same.

Source: CPA Australia 2014, A guide to understanding the financial reports of not-for-profit entities, p. 6,

http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-resources/reporting/not-for-profit-guide.pdf.

3.2 Definition and features of a sole trader

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3.2 Define the term ‘sole trader’ and discuss the main features of a sole trader.

A sole trader is an individual who controls and manages a business. The business is not a separate legal

entity and the owner is fully liable for all debts. For example, if the business incurs debts resulting from a

warranty claim, then the individual will be held responsible for those debts, and any claims will be made

against the individual’s personal assets. It is easy to commence operating as a sole trader as the costs and

paperwork associated with establishing the business are minimal. Basically, a sole trader needs to com-

plete the general registration requirements applying to all new businesses, which consist of applying for an

Australian Business Number (ABN). An ABN is an identifying number for dealings with the Australian

Taxation Office (ATO) and other government departments and agencies. If a sole trader business has a GST

turnover of $75 000 or more, then the business must also register for the goods and services tax (GST).

For tax purposes, the income of the sole trader is treated as the sole trader’s individual income. There-

fore, the individual owner is responsible for paying tax on the business income and must have a tax file