Virginia Historical Society

“In conformity with the practice followed by the museum industry, the society's financial statements exclude the value of the collection objects and library holdings, and no determination has been made as to the aggregate value of such items. Purchases of collection items are recorded as decreases in unrestricted net assets or temporarily restricted net assets if the assets used to purchase collection items are restricted by the donor. The society collects manuscripts, books, maps, newspapers, photographs, portraits, and other works of art, as well as museum artifacts that are related to virginia and american history. The society's collections are maintained for research, education, and public exhibition in furtherance of public service rather than for financial gain. Collections are the most valuable assets of the society and are protected, kept unencumbered, cared for, and preserved. As steward for many treasures relating to the state's and nation's history, the society maintains meticulous records and is nationally noted for the depth and detail of its descriptive cataloging for its library holdings. Intellectual as well as physical control of all collections is maintained through extensive record keeping including provenance of origin; accession date; terms of gift or purchase price, whichever is applicable; physical description and condition report; location; and conservation record. In conformity with the american association of museum guidelines, collections are deaccessioned rarely and in close adherence to specific steps, culminating in approval from the society's president and collection committee. Proceeds derived from the sale of any deaccessioned collections are applied to resources restricted to the purchase of collections. The society does not include either the cost or the value of its collections in the statements of financial position, nor does it recognize gifts of collection items as revenues in the statements of activites. Because collection items acquired by purchase are not capitalized, the cost of those acquisitions is reported as a decrease in net assets in the statement of activities.”

“The society has adopted financial reporting guidance related to accounting for uncertainty in income taxes, which clarifies the accounting for income taxes by prescribing the minimum recognition threshold that a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the society's consolidatedfinancial statements. The guidance also provides criteria on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, disclosure and transition. The society discloses the expected future tax consequences of uncertain tax positions presuming the taxing authorities' full knowledge of the facts and the society's position, and records unrecognized tax benefits or liabilities for known, or anticipated tax issues based on the society's analysis of whether additional taxes would be due to the authority given their full knowledge of the tax position. The society has completed its assessment and determined that there are no tax positions which would require recognition. The society is not currently under audit for any jurisdiction.”