How many of you are familiar with the method of receiving contributions, paying expenses and transmitting designated gifts which is used in your congregation? And is it a method which instills confidence that all is well in the treasury? The following five procedures will help to establish or augment a system which will confirm or create that confidence.

Choosing the Treasurer⤒🔗

This person should be chosen with care, usually from the officers of the church (elders, deacons or trustees). Preferably this individual will have some accounting knowledge. He should be bonded under a fidelity bond equal to the largest amount of cash on hand at any one time in a month. This is not any reflection on the treasurer, but a good practice which gives assurance to the congregation and also to the treasurer.

Handling of Offerings←⤒🔗

It is effective to have offerings counted by two people (not including the treasurer), one of whom should be a church officer. This duty can be rotated each Sunday, so that the burden does not fall on the same people.

There should be an audit form on which the top line is for the undesignated gifts for church operation purposes and the following lines for designated causes. After segregating and noting the designated funds on the form, a deposit ticket should be prepared and checks endorsed. The total of the deposit is then placed at the bottom of the form, the designated funds are subtracted from the total and the balance is the total of contributions for church operations on the top line. At the bottom should be two lines on which offering auditors sign their names.

The bank deposit can then be given to the treasurer along with the signed audit form. Or someone else can make the deposit and give the treasurer the receipted deposit slip and audit form.

Paying Expenses←⤒🔗

The treasurer must make any and all payments by check – never by cash out of the offering. And, with the exception of salary and benefit payments and transmittal of designated funds, disbursements should be made only upon receipt of an approved invoice or written request for payment. Transmittals of designated funds should be made to donees at the end of each month.

Reporting←⤒🔗

The treasurer should make a written, monthly report of the activity in the treasury to the session and, if present, to the board of trustees. The session should instruct the treasurer as to the frequency of sending reports to the congregation.

Auditing←⤒🔗

The treasurer's records should be audited at least annually by a committee of two or more usually at the end of the year. The treasurer must produce the audit forms for each offering received during the year so that those deposits may be traced into the bank account. In the same way the paid invoices and/or written requests for payments should be checked together with all bank statements and cancelled checks so that all disbursements may be proved. When this has been accomplished and the records agree with the treasurer's annual report, the two auditors should issue a statement appended to the bottom of the treasurer's annual report that the records have been audited and approved.

By the use of a system such as this, there has been eliminated any situation which might be construed disadvantageously to either the congregation or the treasurer. Obviously, different situations (such as size of congregation, a separate deacon's treasury, a separate benevolence treasury, whether or not a record of gifts received is made by name for annual reporting purposes, etc.) would require some modifications. But the general principles are useful.