American Council of Engineering Companies
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 520745115
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2023477474
- Rating confidence
- Limited
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $22,868,813
- Expenses
- $21,516,435
- Assets
- $32,595,091
- Liabilities
- $16,559,748
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
74 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LINDA BAUER DARR (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- STEVEN HALL (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- LINDA BAUER DARR (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,107,401 total reported compensation
- STEVEN HALL (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $454,376 total reported compensation
- SANDRA MORRIS (SENIOR VP BRE/MEMBERSHIP &): $396,904 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The business association and voice of america's engineering industry, representing thousands of independent u.s. Engineering companies engaged in the development of transportation, water, and other public and commercial facilities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Meetings, exhibits, & awards: the council plans and executes national conferences and events that bring together member firms, industry partners, and engineering professionals, including the annual convention and fall conference. These gatherings feature exhibit halls connecting member firms with products and services relevant to their business operations. The council also produces the engineering excellence awards program, a national competition in which entries first earn recognition through one of acec's 51 state and metropolitan member organizations before advancing to national-level judging by an independent jury of industry, government, and academic experts. The program culminates in a formal awards gala recognizing outstanding engineering achievements across the country.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: Limited
- Program expense ratio: Limited
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.4%; rating input score 99; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.9%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.51; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 21.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
- Governance: 62 of 62 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 74 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.3M reported
- Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 26 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 14 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.