The Church Treasurer's Handbook. Robert Leach

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      The form above allows for all eventualities, including receiving cheques, £50 notes, Scottish and Irish banknotes and other items. It also allows for non-collection items to be added, though these should normally be separately accounted for. The form allows for payments to be made directly out of the collection, though this practice should also be discouraged. Notes on what constitutes legal tender are given below.

      Often someone other than the treasurer will arrange for the money to be paid in, usually on the Monday. It is then sufficient for that person to attach the paying-in counterfoil to the slip above and pass it to the treasurer.

Pledged giving

      Churches increasingly rely on regular giving from members paid by standing order from the member’s bank account to the church’s. These matters are looked at in Chapter 17 on stewardship, usually administered by a separate stewardship secretary.

      For the treasurer, the issues here are:

      A convenient approach is to have a separate bank account for receiving such donations by standing order. The balance can be transferred to the main bank account once a month as a single figure entered into the records. The separate bank account is still part of the church’s accounts and so must be kept by the treasurer, but it makes it easier for both the treasurer and stewardship secretary to do their jobs.

      Income in kind

      Churches do not just receive cash, they also receive payments in kind through voluntary labour and gifts of assets.

      Gifts of cash are always included in the church accounts.

      Gifts of labour are not included in the accounts, although it is almost always the case that the church could not function without much voluntary work. If a church has a volunteer secretary, organist, youth worker, cleaner or whatever, the treasurer must resist any call to include a figure to reflect the value of that work. The church has not received that benefit in cash and it is false accounting to include it as such. Such a benefit would be difficult to value. Its inclusion would completely distort the accounts and destroy their purpose.

      An exception to this may be needed if applying for a grant from certain bodies. In such cases, it may be appropriate to estimate the value of volunteer labour and treat this as both income in kind and expenditure in kind.

      Gifts of assets for church use which are not consecrated or heritage assets usually are included in the accounts unless their value is small. Where someone gives a piano or computer to the church, that should be recognized as both income in kind and expenditure on the asset, which is usually a fixed asset. If an asset is donated for the church to sell, it is usually acceptable to include it only when sold, treating the sale proceeds as a receipt.

      A church is not obliged to accept gifts they do not want. A church should not become a dump for old furniture and pianos.

      Gifts may take the form of intangible income such as an interest-free loan, use of office space, temporary accommodation, professional services, and loan or free use of equipment. The general policy is that where the donor has borne expenses in providing the intangible income, an estimate of its value should be included as both income and expenditure. In other cases, the benefit should not be included. A discount or free business sample is not intangible income.

      Trading income

      In church accounting, trading means little more than incurring expenditure to receive income. It is not necessary that an activity has a commercial or fund-raising motive. Producing a magazine to promote the gospel is a trading activity if people are asked to pay for it or if it carries paid advertising. It is a trading activity even if priced so that it cannot make a surplus. Other trading activities may include concerts, fetes, hall lettings, refreshments, training and bookstalls. Each trading activity must be separately disclosed.

      In the church accounts, the income and expenditure must be shown separately. It is not acceptable to net off these figures and show just a single figure of profit. An exception is if the income and expenditure is immaterial. If the youth club raises £4 for church funds by earning £5 from washing cars and spending £1 on materials, only the £4 needs to be added to income.

      While this is clearly the correct accounting, it can lead to the objection that the accounts do not state how much profit or loss has been made by each trading activity. This is an area where accounts presentation must compromise between competing criteria. It is considered more important that church members can see the total income and total expenditure of the church. Seeing whether an activity is profitable involves no more than seeing if one number in the accounts is bigger than another.

      MAKING PAYMENTS

      Checking invoices and expenses

      Before paying an invoice, the treasurer should check that:

      The huge variety of invoices which can pass to a treasurer makes it almost impossible to produce prescriptive guidance which is sensible in all circumstances. The treasurer should decide how far he is satisfied СКАЧАТЬ