A committee of nonprofit experts that advises the Internal Revenue Service has developed a prototype of an “online tutorial” that the IRS could use to help managers and board members of charities “better understand the tax rules that govern executive compensation and their role in setting that compensation.”

The proposed Webinar instructional guide would provide “step-by-step, plain-language advice” for charities in a wide range of areas, including “developing internal procedures and compensation comparables, reporting salary information in their IRS Form 990 filings, and maintaining appropriate records necessary” to follow the law and IRS regulations, according to a report from the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities.

“The country has been engaged in an ongoing dialogue over what constitutes appropriate levels of compensation for all levels of society, both in the exempt and for-profit arenas,” the report said.

“Many small and mid-size charities do not have sufficient resources to hire professionals to assist in complying with the complicated regime set up by Congress and embodied in regulations” for setting appropriate compensation, the report said.

The report noted that the IRS will extensively review the committee’s Webinar proposal before the tax agency considers whether to post a final version on its Web site.