Endowments need special handling to ensure transparency, accountability and impact.

Introduction As organizations largely staffed by volunteers who may not have a business or accounting background, congregations will want to establish systems, policies, and procedures to reinforce financial health and vitality. It’s also vital to prevent the opportunity for mistakes or...

Embezzlement from congregations is not unusual, and it almost always occurs when one individual has been granted such a high degree of trust with no safeguards.

Rarely can congregations pay for a full-blown audit of the church books by a CPA. Audits are expensive, often ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 depending on the annual budget of the organization....

Every Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) congregation is a “church” under U.S. tax law, therefore tax exempt, charitable, and exempt from tax filing. There is no “group exemption” from the UUA, but the UUA will provide a letter saying a congregation is in good standing. This addresses...

Financial reports help the finance committee and the board assess the financial health of the congregation so they can make adjustments or decisions as needed.

A congregations’ income ebbs and flows, so it is a good idea to have some cash reserves that can help keep the bills paid in the summer when attendance and pledge payments fall off.

Your operating budget helps your congregation live its mission in the world. How you allocate your resources reflects your values and goals....

A portion of the money in the church’s checking accounts may represent money that is held for specific restricted purposes, including various religious education accounts, social action accounts, the minister’s discretionary fund, etc. They may also represent “pass through” funds such as...

Once the salary and benefits are set by the appropriate church leadership based on recommended practices, it’s important to make sure the payroll is handled accurately and confidentially. Because of the complicated nature of payroll, and especially when it comes to ministers’ salary, housing and...

There are nuanced tax rules regarding income derived from renting your building and/or parking lot, depending on its relation to your core purpose.

When it comes to tracking financial gifts from members in the form of pledge payments and other donations, it's important to remember that the gifts of money are a form of relationship, not just another financial transaction.

If dropping a check or cash into the basket is the only way your congregation invites financial gifts, many in your pews can’t participate in the offering even if they feel called to do so.

Because relationship, compassion and trust are all qualities that congregations are trying to cultivate, church members and staff can fall prey to bad actors and con artists.

Many congregations supply a credit card to more easily segregate work-related expenses. Staff members would only use the card for professional or church expenses.

Employees and volunteers should be reimbursed for approved church related expenses upon submission of receipts and accurate expense reports that conform to the annual budget and IRS requirements. Such expenses may include: Travel – transportation, lodging, meals, incidentals and other associated...

US tax law provides that staff may consider certain items as usual business expenses that are reimbursed beyond the compensation paid to individuals as a necessary expense that is not reported for income tax purposes.

When making sure that your bills are being paid efficiently, accurately and on time, your congregation also needs safeguards to make sure no one has the opportunity to use your system to embezzle funds.

In setting up church financial management software, it’s important to provide safeguards to prevent tampering with the electronic records

All financial best practices depend on reducing the risk of embezzlement or theft by increasing transparency and detection by creating systems and roles that segregate key duties.