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Finances

This page tells you what Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) says about how you report on your finances.

If you incorporated before ONCA was proclaimed on October 19, 2021, your bylaws or articles may not comply with the rules explained below. You have until October 18, 2024 to review, update, and file your governing documents with the Ontario government. Until then, the rules in your articles and bylaws continue to be valid. This is true as long they were valid before the ONCA took effect.

Any member of your nonprofit can ask for a copy of your financial statements and your auditor’s report, if an audit was done. Members can ask for this at any time and must be provided access during regular business hours.

Yes. You have to give members these documents whenever they ask for them.

You also have to send your financial statements, or a summary of them, to all members at least 5 days before your annual meeting. 

You may need to get one. It depends on whether you are a public benefit corporation, and what your annual revenue is. See the table below.

You are a public benefit corporation if you are a registered charity, or if you received more than $10,000 in a financial year:

  1. from the government, or
  2. as donations from people or organizations who are not members, employees, officers, or directors.
Annual revenue Public benefit corporation Not a public benefit corporation
$0-$99,999.99 You can pass an extraordinary resolution that says you don’t need to do an audit and a review engagement You can pass an extraordinary resolution that says you don’t need to do an audit and a review engagement
$100,000-$499,999.99 You can pass an extraordinary resolution to have a review engagement You can pass an extraordinary resolution that says you don’t need to do an audit and a review engagement
$500,000+ You must have an audit You can pass an extraordinary resolution to have a review engagement

Note: Even if you decide not to do an audit and a financial review engagement, you will still need to report on finances to your members. But your report doesn’t have to be looked at and confirmed by a certified public accountant who is independent of your nonprofit.

Also, even if the ONCA says you don’t have to do an audit, you may have to do one because a funder requires it.

For some important questions, such as whether you will get an audit done or not, you must get more than the usual amount of support from your members when you vote on that question. This type of vote is called an extraordinary resolution.

To pass an extraordinary resolution:

  • at least 80% of members who vote at your annual meeting must vote in favour of the resolution, or
  • all your members need to agree to it in writing.

Every extraordinary resolution has to be voted on once a year.

An audit is when a certified public accountant that is independent of your nonprofit checks your financial records and financial position.

A financial review engagement also has to be done by a certified public accountant that is independent of your nonprofit, but it takes less time and is less expensive than an audit.

If your nonprofit must have an audit and you don’t appoint an auditor, any member can ask the court to appoint one.

Reviewed: 2024-03-11