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Education · Financial reporting
Tuition, Gift & Endowment Reporting for Private Schools
Cleaner year-ends and fewer audit adjustments for your business office.

Tuition, gifts & endowments

Tuition, restricted gift and endowment reporting for private schools

Greywood CPA helps private schools get tuition, gifts and endowments reported correctly, so year-end closes cleanly and the audit goes faster. These three areas cause most of the adjustments auditors propose at schools.

We review your policies and records, correct the accounting before year-end, and set up the schedules your business office can maintain going forward. For schools we audit, this work is done by a separate team so the audit stays independent.

Last reviewed: November 2026

Request a fixed-fee proposal Call (804) 630-8140

Tuition revenue and financial aid

Tuition is recorded as the school earns it over the school year, net of the financial aid and discounts the school funds itself. Common problems:

  • Recording a full year of tuition when contracts are signed rather than as it is earned
  • Showing school-funded aid as an expense instead of a reduction of tuition
  • Not accounting for deposits and fees collected for next year
  • Refund and withdrawal policies not reflected at year-end

Donor-restricted gifts and pledges

Gifts are reported as with or without donor restrictions, and released when the restriction is met, for example when a scholarship is awarded or a building is completed.

  • Pledges are recorded when unconditionally promised, discounted if collected over several years, and reduced for amounts unlikely to be collected
  • Conditional gifts, such as matching challenges, are recorded only when the condition is met
  • In-kind gifts are recorded at fair value and disclosed

Endowment reporting

Endowment funds need records of each original gift, its restrictions, investment returns and the annual spending draw. Most states have adopted UPMIFA, the uniform law governing how nonprofits invest and spend endowment funds. Your statements also need to disclose any endowment funds whose value has fallen below the original gift.

Net assets, functional expenses and liquidity

Nonprofit schools present net assets in two classes, with and without donor restrictions, report expenses by both function and nature, and disclose how much is available for operations in the next year. We build these schedules so they roll forward each year without starting from scratch.

How the engagement works

  1. Review callDay 1

    We look at your current reports and where last year's audit adjustments came from.

  2. Fixed-fee proposalWithin 1–3 business days

    Scope and one fixed fee, in writing.

  3. Clean-up and schedulesWeeks 1–4

    Corrected entries and roll-forward schedules for tuition, gifts and endowments.

  4. Hand-offBefore year-end

    Written policies and a walk-through with your business office.

Why schools choose Greywood CPA

  • Fixed fee, agreed first. No hourly billing and no surprise invoices.
  • Senior people on your file. Every engagement is led by a senior professional and signed off by a CPA partner. Meet the team.
  • Licensed and registered. Virginia Board of Accountancy firm license #134961, AICPA member, with out-of-state registrations where required. See our credentials.

Related

Private school auditsFinancial statement audits for schools.View →Outsourced controllerOngoing business office support.View →EducationAll education services.View →

School financial reporting FAQs

When should a school record tuition revenue?

As it is earned over the school year, not when enrollment contracts are signed. Deposits collected for next year are a liability until that year begins.

Is financial aid an expense?

Aid the school funds itself reduces tuition revenue rather than being an expense. Scholarships paid from donor-restricted funds are shown as a release of those restrictions.

When do we record a pledge?

When it is an unconditional promise to give, even if payment comes later. Multi-year pledges are discounted, and an allowance covers amounts unlikely to be collected.

What is an underwater endowment?

An endowment fund whose current value is below the original gift or the amount required to be maintained. It has to be disclosed in your financial statements.

Can you do this and also audit us?

Independence rules limit this. For audit clients, a separate team does the accounting work and we confirm up front what we can provide without affecting independence.

Want a cleaner year-end and fewer audit adjustments?

Send us last year's audit adjustments. A senior CPA will scope the work and send a fixed-fee proposal within 1–3 business days.