- Budgeting: Financial Management and Vision Fulfillment
Why have a budget?
How to build a budget
Different types of budgets and their purpose
Narrative
Cash flow
Line item
Zero based
The importance of collaboration
How and when and why to make adjustments
The 5/5 method of financial position evaluation
- Transparency: Open, Honest, Accountable
How shall we do our accounting?
What and when and why to report on church financial matters
Internal vs external
Records retention
Creating a “reader friendly” statement
- Internal Controls: Protecting the Church’s assets (and our volunteer’s reputations)
Why we need internal controls? (As a both faith and sound business practice)
Policies and procedures for:
Safeguarding money and people
Counting and recording
Timely Reporting
Reconciling statements
Assets other than cash
The Audit (evaluating the compilation, the review and the audit)
Insurance
Multiple Signatures/multiple authorizations
- Protecting your Building and Property (from a hostile take-over)
- General Policies
The “No One Rule”
Investment Policy
Gifts Policy (Including receiving, refusing, and retiring cash and non-cash gifts)
The Importance of Training and Recruiting
Permanent Funds
Digital and Electronic Giving
Assessing Gifts “at risk”
Who Knows What About Giving (and WHY!)
Undesignated Bequests (How not to have a church fight or practice poor stewardship)
Who Decides Who Gets Paid (what to do in a budgetary short-fall)
Do We Prosecute? (What to do in the wake of fiduciary malfeasance/embezzlement)
Credit Card Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Unrelated Business Income Tax (and the 990)
How Much is Enough? (Faithfully managing the “rainy-day” mentality)
- Staff
Evaluations
Fair Compensation (COLA and Merit)
Tax Considerations for Qualified Clergy
- Structuring Financial Ministries
The Finance Team
Gifts and skills
Responsibilities
The Stewardship Team
Gifts and skills
Responsibilities
The Legacy Team
Gifts and skills
ResponsibilitiesYour Church’s Last Will and Testament (Preparing for the end of visible ministry).