[Foundation-l] Fwd: [Internal-l] Wikimedia Foundation's Audited Financial Statements on the Foundation Wiki

[Michael Snow]

Ral315 wrote:
> I had a few questions regarding the Question-and-Answer page, regarding Form
> 990.  The current plan is to publish Form 990 by mid-February, it seems --
> did the Foundation received an extension again this year?  With an
> extension, the deadline would be February 16, rather than November 17 -- I'm
> assuming that's what happened.
>
> Also, while extensions are granted fairly liberally, is it normal practice
> to receive extensions on an annual basis?
>   
Yes, extensions are routine all around. I think at one point it was 
mentioned that some organizations or their auditors deliberately push 
back filing Form 990 until the last possible moment, although I doubt we 
want to make that our philosophy. But really it's much like any other 
tax filing, including personal income taxes. The IRS is less concerned 
about promptness in filing, as long as you obtain the proper extension, 
than about the filing being correct. (What you don't get an extension 
for, of course, is actual payment of any tax you owe.)

Anyway, our first priority was completing the audit itself rather than 
completing Form 990, so we're using a routine extension. I believe the 
last one was not filed until this past May, as the previous audit was 
also considerably delayed, so we're making progress on the timetable. I 
don't anticipate any serious difficulties or big surprises with the next 
Form 990, but it will still need time to prepare and review.

--Michael Snow