Attention human and social service organizations of Massachusetts: Are you ready for the impending November 15th deadline for Uniform Financial Statements (UFR)? UFR compliance can get complicated, so it’s crucial you fully understand your filing duties.

More about UFR

The Uniform Financial Statements and Independent Auditor’s Report (UFR) is a set of financial statements and schedules that human and social service organizations are required to complete. Specifically, it applies to organizations who deliver services to Massachusetts’ vulnerable consumers via contracts with state departments.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a responsibility to provide a strong system of public accountability and to protect the interests of the consumers being served by Commonwealth departments. Therefore, contractors must file the UFR on an annual basis to achieve this objective.

November 15th deadline

A properly completed UFR must be submitted via the UFR eFiling application on or before the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of the social service contractor organization’s fiscal year. For example, an organization with a fiscal year ending June 30th must submit a UFR by November 15th.

Code of Massachusetts Regulations

Massachusetts state agencies issue regulations that are compiled in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR). You can find the official requirements for filing your UFR in section 1.00- Compliance, Reporting, and Auditing for Human and Social Services of the CMR.

Common Filing Deficiencies

Some of the most common UFR filing deficiencies relate to recordkeeping requirements and non-reimbursable costs.

Recordkeeping requirements: Personnel records must be maintained for each employee in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Included in the employee’s personnel file, an organization should maintain timesheets which adequately document an individual’s full-time equivalent (FTE) for each program they participate in. FTE’s are required to be actual hours worked in each department versus a percentage of their time.

Non-Reimbursable Costs: There are certain costs received from Departments which can be used for Reimbursable Operating Costs, but only if they are specifically defined as such. Here’s a few examples:

• Certain salaries and consultant compensation- Any compensation, as defined by the Operational Services Division (OSD) shall be non-reimbursable to the extent that they exceed an annual rate previously approved by the OSD.
• Bad debts- Amounts that are proven to be entirely uncollectible despite collection efforts (including legal action) and any related legal costs are non-reimbursable.
• Related party transaction costs- These costs are reimbursable ONLY to the extent that the costs do not exceed the lower of either the market price or the related party’s actual costs.

November 15th is fast approaching! Contact any member of our Not-for-Profit Services Team for guidance on or questions regarding the UFR filing process.