“Performing our duties with diligence”

“Performing our duties with diligence”


TEMPORAL AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

DIOCESE OF GEORGETOWN

LOGO“Performing our duties with diligence”

atWhat does the Church say?1

Duties of an administrator2

Particular Law 3

oExcel tools 4

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What does the church say?

Can. 492 §1

In each diocese a finance committee [council] is to be established, presided over by the diocesan Bishop or his delegate. It is to be composed of at least three of the faithful, expert in financial affairs and civil law, of outstanding integrity, and appointed by the Bishop.



Can. 537

In each parish there is to be a finance council [committee] which is governed, in addition to universal law [Canon Law], by norms issued by the diocesan bishop [particular law] and in which the Christian faithful, selected according to these same norms, are to assist the pastor in the administration of the goods of the parish.

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Can. 1280

Every juridical person [parish] is to have its own finance committee, or at least two counselors, who are to assist in the performance of the administrator's duties, in accordance with the statutes. .



Can. 1284 §1

All administrators are to perform their duties with the diligence of a good householder.

Diligence - careful and persistent work or effort.



Can. 1282

All persons, whether clerics or laity, who lawfully take part in the administration of ecclesiastical goods, are bound to fulfill their duties in the name of the Church, in accordance with the law.


11° be vigilant that no goods placed in their care in any way perish or suffer damage; to this end they are, to the extent necessary, to arrange insurance contracts;

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2° ensure that the ownership of ecclesiastical goods is safeguarded in ways which are valid in civil law;

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3° observe the provisions of canon and civil law, and the stipulations of the founder or donor or lawful authority; they are to take special care that damage will not be suffered by the Church through the non-observance of the civil law;

Duties of an administrator


44° seek accurately and at the proper

time the income and produce of the

goods, guard them securely and expend them in accordance with the wishes of

the founder or lawful norms;

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5° at the proper time pay the interest which is due by reason of a loan or pledge, and take care that in due time the capital is repaid;

66° with the consent of the Ordinary make use of money which is surplus after payment of expenses and which can be profitably invested for the purposes of the juridical person;



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7° keep accurate records of income and expenditure;

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8° draw up an account of their administration at

the end of each year;

99° keep in order and

preserve in a convenient and

suitable archive the documents and records establishing the rights

of the Church or institute to its goods; where conveniently possible, authentic

copies must be placed in the curial archives.



Administrator

Lay collaborators

Local Ordinary

Local Bishop

Parish priest

Lay persons


Particular law – local norms

Can. 537

In each parish there is to be a finance council [committee] which is governed, in addition to universal law [Canon Law], by norms issued by the diocesan bishop [particular law] and in which the Christian faithful, selected according to these same norms, are to assist the pastor in the administration of the goods of the parish.

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Particular law – local norms

Local norms or Diocesan PoliciesPolicies for Pastoral Administration

- Temporal and Financial ManagementDraft completed - March 2012Adopted – March 4, 2014Open to amendments.


3.1 Establishment

A Finance Committee assists the Priest in the administration of the temporal goods of the Church.


3.2 Purpose

To develop a strategic plan for the financial year and in an advisory capacity submit for consideration to the Parish Priest financial activities based on income. Submission is to be made to the Bishop by parishes without priests.


3.3 Membership

Membership of the Finance Committee is by appointment and based on particular Financial and administrative expertise.


3.4 Qualification for serving Recommendations could be made by

parishioners based on competence, experience and willingness to serve. The Parish Priest considers the recommendations and may discuss/ consult with others before appointment is decided. The Bishop would consider the recommendations in the absence of a priest.


3.5 Regular Meetings The Committee should meet at least 4

times annually and the minutes should be duly recorded and circulated to members. Sub-committee meetings should also should be duly recorded and circulated to members of the Finance Committee.


3.6 General Functions • Develop and oversee the general budget

process• Prepare the current and capital budget (capital

needs for the next two years).• Oversee the collection count teams, banking of

funds, rotation of duties and responsibilities, handling of collection and ensuring correct safeguards are in place.

• Ensure financial records are done in a timely manner and stored in the parish office.


3.6 General Functions • Ensure all expenditure is paid in a timely

manner, for example telephone, electricity, internet, stipend and salaries, payment to Bishop’s House. To ensure water rates, rates and taxes and such other obligations are met according to their specific deadlines.

• Review the financial reports for submission to Parish Priest/ Bishop

• Ensure all contracts/ agreements are carefully reviewed and approved before expenditure is undertaken


3.6 General Functions • Review and recommend all fund-raising activities

• Attend and participate in all meetings

• Assist sub-committees as needed

• Work as a team member to support the Community’s mission, vision and direction in collaboration with the Parish priest/ Bishop

• Provide inputs and review issues with an objective mind

• Support priests and staff, giving them the spiritual/ moral/ professional support they need to further the goals of the community


3.7 Special Functions

• To encourage and oversee financial drives or systems of special collection

• To advise on extraordinary expenditure (including capital repairs). To sign any proposals related to a capital project


4.2 Count teams

Parishioners who are not related [relatives] and who have undertaken this function through a roster.

Selection relates to trust and honesty.


4.4 Tamper evident bags

These bags are provided by the parish for storage and by bankers for deposit.


4.5 Handling collections

Only authorized parishioners must be allowed to remove collection from the Sanctuary and undertake the count in the specified location.


4.6 Physical safeguardsCollection must be removed from the Sanctuary to the place of count under dual control. Count must also be done under dual [multiple] control at the specified location in the church premises not easily accessible to strangers. Collection must never be removed from Church/ presbytery premises until ready for deposit. If a safe is available dual control must be maintained. Count must be recorded in register provided and signed by the counters. Recording of envelope collections must be done in the log book.


4.7 Donations These are handled by the Office Staff of

each parish and the relevant pre- numbered receipt must be issued.

The donation should be recorded in the deposit sheet prepared for banking and the receiving member sign on the reverse side of the duplicate receipt.


4.8 Collection reconciliation

Collections deposited must reconcile with collection register.


4.9 Collections at Funerals

Collections are taken at funerals only at the request of the family of the deceased and for recognized charities.

Such collections are taken up by the parish, banked and a cheque to the amount issued to the charity.


4.10 Allocation of collections – other

All collections other than ordinary (e.g. door/ second/ special/ funeral collections) should be banked and cheques issued to the respective recipients.

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Banking System Minimize the number of bank accounts. Savings

and current accounts are sufficient, except for investment accounts.

Reconciliation of Bank Statements must be done against internal records e.g. cheque stubs.

Reconciliation should be undertaken by an officer other than the person who had prepared the cheques.


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Deposits Deposits to accounts (cash/ cheque) are

recommended not later than 48 hours but preferably same day deposit is what should be implemented.


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Disbursements Authorization and approval of disbursements – it must be

ensured that the supporting documentation and voucher are correctly prepared and checked before presenting the prepared cheque for signature. When the expenditure has been completed, the relevant receipts must be attached to the requisition.

Prevention of duplicate payments – aided by careful attention to original invoices and its unique invoice number which should be recorded in the General Ledger system.

Control over cheque books – access to unused cheque book stocks must be restricted; if an account is closed, the remaining cheque stock should be shredded.

Cheques should not be made payable to cash.


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Petty Cash This float must be used for small expenditure. Each Petty Cash payment must be supported

by the relevant Petty Cash Voucher along with bills and receipts, and must denote the reason for the expense. The voucher must carry the signatures of the officer preparing it and the recipient.

Petty Cash should always be kept in a separate canister and locked. Petty Cash must never be mixed with other funds.


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Fund-raising policy All fund-raising events must be authorized by the parish

priest. Fund-raising cost should be authorized by the parish priest

or the designated person and supported by bills/ invoices. For all events donation sheets/ letters must be issued from

the parish office duly stamped, signed and accounted for. All donations in cash and kind must be handed over with the accompanying donation sheet. All partially filled/ unutilized donation sheets must be returned to the parish office. This also applies to raffle sheets.

Spending by attendees shall be done through a chit system. Cash must always be reconciled with chits sold.

A financial report on fund-raising events shall be posted on the Church’s Bulletin Board for parishioners to view.



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Capital Fund Request and Allocation Process Diocesan Approval – Prior to the commencement of any

capital works or modifications of any kind the parish must consult the Bishop with the projected costs and supporting documentation.

Advance – After the first advance of funds the Priest or delegated authority will make no further advances until all expenditure exhausting that advance is justified by relevant receipts and the required works phase has been completed.

Variations – Any variation(s) in completion of phases agreed upon must be explained and submitted for review to the Bishop. Variation(s) must not impact financially on other Ministry areas hence serious monitoring of works must be done and targets achieved.



Human Resource

Management

Capital Fund Request and Allocation Process

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TEMPORAL AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT


Documents

“Performing our duties with diligence”