Columbia District 2015 Leadership Development Training Finance and Stewardship November 15, 2015 Beth Westbury, Treasurer and Director of Administrative Services
The obligatory disclaimer: the remarks I'm about to make are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Methodist Church, the South Carolina Annual Conference…
Bishop Jonathan Holston
Rev. David Surrett, President CF&A
I want to help you! Tell me how… • Feel free to interrupt with a question or comment. Don’t wait until the end. • Participate! Share your thoughts and ideas. • We will all find the afternoon more enjoyable!
AGENDA • Role of Finance Committee – “You want me to do what?” • Internal Controls – “We have internal controls….I have the key to the thermostat.” • Stewardship – “It’s not just about the money.” (But for Finance, it really is.) • What’s happening in the Conference Treasurer’s Office?
Role of Finance Committee • The Book of Discipline, paragraph 258.4 defines the responsibilities of the finance committee. Some of them are: • Compiling the annual budget • Administering funds received by the church in accordance with its mission • Establishing internal control policies • Annually reviewing and reporting on the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls (Local Church Audit) • Overseeing stewardship
Budgeting • Compile the budget keeping in mind you are also responsible for raising sufficient funds to meet the budget • Mission first: to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. • Reaching out to members and non-members to receive them • Nurturing them in faith with information and experiences • Equipping them to perceive their own call from God that utilizes the gifts God has given • Sending them into the world to use those gifts for the transformation of the world
Budgeting • Dig Deeper • When preparing the budget, do you basically do the same as last year? • If an area asks for an increase, do you ask them to justify the increase? How will that increase contribute to the church’s mission? • Is there a way to measure the success of that budget increase?
Budgeting • An example • The youth group wants to go on a retreat and is asking the church to include financial assistance in the budget. • How do you decide if this is a good investment in making disciples of Christ? Increases in the number of youth attending the youth activities, Sunday School, worship • services? Youth expressing greater interest in missional projects (blankets for homeless, work in soup • kitchen, backpack snacks drive?
Budgeting • Comparing the budget to actual results is a type on internal control • Ask questions about areas that appear greater or less than what is anticipated. • Ask questions, even if you know the answer. Helps keep people honest and they know you are watching closely.
Internal Controls • Five components of internal control • Control Environment, the tone at the top • Risk Assessment, what are our objectives and what might derail our pursuit of them • Control Activities, policies and procedures we establish to help us achieve our objectives, like segregation of duties • Information and Communication, timely reporting of financial information to committee and others • Monitoring Activities, making sure controls are functioning as designed (Local Church Audit)
Internal Controls • Segregation of Duties: • Authorize, record, reconcile, review-multiple people need to be involved and engaged • Example-Pastor’s Discretionary Fund
Segregation of Duties • Example-Electric bill Does someone independent of the payment process approve the electric bill and verify the • service address before giving it to the person writing the check? A trustee? Does the person writing the check provide both the check and the approved electric bill to • the person signing the check? Does the person signing the check verify the service address for the electric bill? Do the • charges appear reasonable?
Segregation of Duties • Don’t forget to evaluate your revenue cycle as well • Two or more unrelated persons count the offering and deliver it to the bank (locked bank bag?) • Another unrelated person is entering the donations by individual or family • Someone is reconciling the counting documents to the bank deposits to the activity in the donations sub-ledger. • Statements are mailed to donors at least quarterly
Stewardship • Stewardship applies to time, talent, gifts, and to monetary donations • Stewardship is about connection • How strong is my connection to God and how can I grow it? • How strong is my connection to the local church and how can I grow it? • How strong is the local church’s connection to the general church and how do we grow it?
Stewardship by John Wesley • “Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can” ― John Wesley • “Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” ― John Wesley
Stewardship Stewardship Summit Saturday, March 5, 2016 Simpsonville UMC 10:00 am – 3:15 pm Lunch will be provided. $10 per person registration fee
In the Treasurer’s Office Webpage Redesign
In the Treasurer’s Office • Gradually, we are trying to put more resources on our website. For the future: • Accounting policies and procedures (in the meantime, feel free to borrow from other Conference websites) • More detailed accountable reimbursement plan • Guidelines for completing the ministerial support form tying the form to W-2 reporting and to statistical reports (Table 2).
The End Any closing questions or comments?
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