Wikimedia Foundation Audit Committee/2026-04-20
Wikimedia Foundation
Audit Committee Meeting
April 20, 2026
Location: Virtual
9:30 - 11:00 am PST
16:30 - 18:00 UTC
Participants
Committee Members Present:
Audit Committee Chair: Kathy Collins (Executive Session)
Audit Committee Members: Luis Bitencourt-Emilio (Executive Session), Raju Narisetti (Executive Session)
Audit Committee Alternates: Michal Buczynski (Executive Session), Maciej Nadzikiewicz (Executive Session)
Audit Committee Advisor: Michael Snow
Non-Committee Members Present:
Board of Trustees Chair: Lorenzo Losa (Executive Session)
Staff Liaison: Jaime Villagomez (Executive Session)
CEO: Bernadette Meehan (Executive Session)
Other Staff: Courtney Bass Sherizen (Executive Session), Paloma Thombley, Nadee Gunasena, Kira Sargatzke, Helen Pang, Shelby Langan, Lisa Gruwell, James Baldwin (Executive Session), Amy Vossbrinck, Dhaval Patel, Stephen LaPorte (Executive Session), Aeryn Palmer
Board Member/Guest: Mayree Clark (Executive Session)
KPMG Staff Present:
Chad Franks, Tax Principal
McCain Highfill, Tax Senior Manager
Mattthew de Haven, Senior Associate
Kathy Collins opened the meeting at 9:31 am PDT
Moved to approve the Feb 25, 2026 Audit Committee Minutes: Raju Narisetti
Seconded: Kathy Collins
Unanimous approval by voting members: Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio, Raju Narisetti
Form 990 FY 24-25 Review and Approval
Presented by: Chad Franks (KPMG, Tax Principal) and McCain Highfill (KPMG, Tax Senior Manager)
KPMG presented the results and highlights of the Wikimedia Foundation draft Form 990 and 990-T for fiscal year 2024-2025.
Form 990 FY 24-25 Timeline
Presented by: Shelby Langan (Senior Manager, Accounting and External Financial Reporting)
A timeline of the Form 990 preparation process was presented, as well as key takeaways and changes from last year’s 990.
Moved to approve the Wikimedia Foundation FY 24-25 Form 990 and Form 990-T: Kathy Collins
Seconded: Luis Bitencourt-Emilio
Unanimous approval by voting members: Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio, Raju Narisetti
KMPG representatives left the meeting
External Auditor Selection Process FY 25-26 Audit
Presented by: Shelby Langan (Senior Manager, Accounting and External Financial Reporting)
The Foundation is initiating a request for proposals process to choose an external auditor for FY 25-26. The request for proposals process and scoring rubric was presented. The Audit Committee chair will participate in interviewing firms. Wikimedia management plans to recommend the auditor to the Audit Committee for approval in the next meeting on May 21.
FY 26 Financial Results Update
Presented by: Kira Sargarzke (Senior Manager, Finance)
Year to date through February
- Revenue continues to outpace the year to date budget due to:
- Strong fundraising performance in email, recurring donations and major gifts
- Investment Income, and realized gains resulting from equity rebalancing
- New Wikimedia Enterprise clients
- Expenses are slightly higher than budget due to:
- A variance in the timing of grants which will be offset when the final round of grants are awarded and distributed
- Higher personnel costs due to lower attrition and a lower exchange rate due to the devaluation of USD
FY 27 Proposed Staff Budgetary Compensation Increase
Presented by Paloma Thombley (Vice President, People Experience)
Compensation Adjustments
- The Foundation benchmarks compensation using data provided from a third party survey provider to set the overall compensation increase budget for the coming year. This includes the budget for Competitive Compensation Adjustments (CCAs) in each country, as well as Merit and Promotion budgets.
- The CCAs support the Foundation’s compensation principle of providing a competitive salary; we do this both by benchmarking Foundation jobs with relevant median base salaries of similar roles in similar locations/countries, and incorporating the benchmark standard Total Salary Increase % for staff each year, by country, to address inflation and talent market shifts. These CCAs also include any country-specific statutory requirements for salary increases.
- The Foundation benchmarks salaries of all Foundation jobs with the median base salary of similar roles across different industry sectors in the location, using an established third-party compensation survey provider. The survey includes data aggregated from international companies that operate within that specific location/country.
Changes for the Compensation Budget in FY 26-27
- This year we have used the Total Salary Increase % to directly guide our total compensation increase budget, which is a change from previous years where Merit and Promotion Budgets were added on to this number. We have adjusted this practice to be more reflective of our compensation philosophy (tying to the correct market practice) and to be financially sustainable.
- Merit and promotion budgets are set based on targets for the % of staff who would receive them. These targets are set based on industry benchmarks and remain consistent from previous years.
Recommendation which needs the approval of the Audit Committee
A total Salary Increase Budget for FY 26-27, which is a sum of both the CCA ($3.2 Million) and Merit/Promotions ($1 Million) budgets for the following reasons:
- It is in line with industry practice
- It aligns with our Compensation Philosophy and consistent with past year general practice
- It is financially sustainable
Moved to approve the Annual Merit/Promotion and Country-based Salary Adjustments: Kathy Collins
Seconded: Raju Narisetti
Unanimous approval by voting members: Raju Narisetti, Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio
Kathy Collins adjourned the meeting at 10:25 am PDT and convened the Executive Session.
Executive Session
Kathy Collins
Raju Narisetti
Luis Bitencourt-Emilio
Maciej Nadzikiewicz
Lorenzo Losa
Michal Buczynski
Stephen LaPorte
Jaime Villagomez
Mayree Clark
Bernadette Meehan
Courtney Bass-Sherizen
James Baldwin
APPENDIX: PASSED RESOLUTIONS
Resolution: Minutes Approval, April 20, 2026
RESOLVED, that the Audit Committee hereby approves the minutes from the February 25, 2026 Audit Committee meeting.
Move to approve the Feb 25, 2026 Audit Committee Minutes: Raju Narisetti
Seconded: Kathy Collins
Unanimous approval by voting members: Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio, Raju Narisetti
Resolution: Approval of the Wikimedia Foundation FY 24 - 25 Form 990 and Form 990T
RESOLVED, that the Audit Committee hereby approves the Wikimedia Foundation FY 24 - 25 Form 990 and Form 990T
Move to approve the Wikimedia Foundation FY 24-25 Form 990 and Form 990T: Kathy Collins
Seconded: Luis Bitencourt-Emilio
Unanimous approval by voting members: Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio, Raju Narisetti
Resolution: Approval of the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Merit/Promotion and Country-based Salary Adjustments to be included in the FY 2027 budget
RESOLVED, that the Audit Committee hereby approves the Wikimedia Foundation Annual Merit/Promotion and Country-based Salary Adjustments
Moved to approve the Annual Merit/Promotion and Country-based Salary Adjustments: Kathy Collins
Seconded: Raju Narisetti
Unanimous approval by voting members: Raju Narisetti, Kathy Collins, Luis Bitencourt-Emilio