Complex new forms focus less on finances, more on how groups operate and prevent corruption.

By Christopher K. Hepp

The pressure for greater oversight has been building since the 2002 passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which enhanced financial-disclosure and accountability standards for publicly held companies.

Nonprofits have been required to file 990s since 1942, but the information sought was largely financial: how much money came in and how it was spent. Critics, including members of Congress, have pressed for a broader window into nonprofits. The new form is the response.