Auditor Report Received by the Vestry
The report is in. The news is very good for the second year in a row. Charles Russell, senior partner in the accounting firm of Painter, Russell and Associates met with the Finance Committee and then the Vestry at meetings in May. He and his team were reporting on the just concluded audit of the accounting records of the church for the year just ended (January 1 – December 31, 2009).
This year marks a change in the format of the financial statements from traditional GAAP to a Modified Cash basis alternative that better captures the nature of our operations. This changes the yearly exception note on fixed assets and depreciation and allows the auditors to issue a “clean” opinion on our records and the financial statements being published. This means that in their opinion, the statements “present fairly, in all material respects, the assets, liabilities, and net assets of The Cathedral of All Souls as of December 31, 2009, and its revenues, expenses, and other changes in net assets for the year then ended on the basis of accounting described in Note 1.” This note describes the modified cash basis of accounting. There is also a special note to acknowledge that the buildings and equipment are held in trust for the Diocese and the wider Episcopal Church.
Mr. Russell noted significant improvements in internal control, general documentation and segregation of duties as compared to the report a year ago. There were still suggestions that he offered in their management letter.
1. Segregation of Duties. Because of the limited number of people working in the office, they noted that it is important to continue to involve members of the Vestry in the daily operations.
2. Bank Reconciliation Review. They noted small exceptions in the bank reconciliations at year-end that didn’t fully agree with the general ledger. They recommended that there not be a final sign-off on the bank reconciliation until all year-end reconciling entries have been made.
Each of these is being addressed by the Finance Committee and Vestry. In the area of segregation of duties, we continue to follow our protocol where the one of the Wardens is the primary check signer for all disbursements. For recommendation #2, we will incorporate their recommendation about not doing bank reconciliation sign-off until all other final entries have been made.
Both the Finance Committee and Vestry were appreciative of the timeliness of the report and the encouraging words. There was also recognition of the careful attention to detail that Sue Gervais has brought to the role of bookkeeper. There was a grateful acknowledgment of the role of an active Finance Committee.
Jack Parsons, Treasurer
July 11, 2010
Treasurer’s Report
We have closed the books for June and are now half-way through the year. Through six months we have $408,972 in income and $412,786 in expenses for a difference of ($3,814.)
Income is at 45.1% vs. 49.4% one year ago. Since our pledges represent the largest proportion of our income at 68.3%, it is easy to see how a change in our giving pattern could impact the total financial picture. And indeed, we see that pledge income is behind where we were last year at this same time. For many parishioners, this is linked to the interruptions of summer with vacations and other distractions. You can help by being on time (or even in advance) with your pledge payments during the summer.
Spending is within our budget and represents 45.6% through six months.
We are recently welcomed new members received or confirmed by the Bishop and have had great participation in our inquirer’s classes. It would be important also to extend the invitation for them to become regular financial supporters of the parish through pledging. We have a strong stewardship campaign every fall looking ahead to the following year, but new members join us at times throughout the year. So, please know that you can make a pledge at any time to support the ministries of this place. We welcome new pledges for the second half or for any portion of the year. You can make that commitment through the office.
Our stewardship of this place and our community is reflected in the care with which your gifts are received and accounted for. We have an annual budget to control our expenditures for the regular operations of the church. There are regular monthly reports to Finance Committee and Vestry and a methodology for amending the budget as needed.
Jack Parsons
July 12, 2010