Blogging Beyond the Numbers

1. Budget As you budget for the rest of your fiscal year or the next, the best practice right now is to create multiple scenario budgets ranging from most to least likely. Take into consideration giving trends from previous years compared to this year, variable and fixed costs, PPP loans (if applicable), and timing of expenditures. The regular budgeting process is just not very practical these days. ...

Auditors love internal controls so it should come as no surprise that despite our current COVID environment, internal controls are still top of mind. Risk has always been a part of developing a strong internal control structure, but risk is becoming an even bigger player during this season. Unfortunately, we’ve already seen headlines of checks being stolen out of mailboxes as one example. Now, more than ...

Churches and all places of worship are expected to demonstrate integrity and accountability. Thus, headlines regarding misconduct, sexual abuse, cover-up, or fraud may severely damage the church’s reputation and future actions. How can a church protect against these situations and ensure they are complying with legal and insurance requirements? It starts with identifying and assessing the risks. Only wit...

Institutional knowledge. What your staff knows is one of the most valuable intangible assets of every organization. It’s often taken for granted and losing it is costly, frustrating, and inefficient. The concept of business continuity is more than having a disaster recovery plan for natural disasters or technology failure. It should also include personnel transitions, which are much more common. How ...

Faith in Numbers was created as an educational offering to churches and religious organizations in the Midwest region. Additionally, we wanted to provide an opportunity to gather with similar organizations to network, share insights and solutions, and act as resources for each other. As such, we want to reiterate our gratitude to the speakers, sponsors, and attendees who made Faith in Numbers 2018 a success...

Have you heard of the 403(b)(9) plan? This type of plan, as opposed to an IRA, 403(b), 403(b)(7) or a 401(k) plan, has two key benefits for ministers described in greater detail below. Many churches are using one of the other categories of plans as opposed to the more advantageous 403(b)(9). There are multiple reasons for this. Typically, the retirement plan vendor of choice is either a local financial repr...

On June 21, 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2018-08: Clarifying the Scope and the Accounting Guidance for Contributions Received and Contributions Made.  This ASU will impact all organizations that receive or make contributions of cash or other assets. This ASU includes specific criteria to consider when determining whether a contract or agreeme...

I was recently asked about the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that went into effect on January 1, 2018 on major donor giving.  In that tax reform, the standard deduction—the amount an individual or couple can claim without justifying it—essentially doubled. The fears of many is that having a higher deduction would limit giving because donors will not get a tax benefit if their deductions do not su...

As church members, we probably do not want to entertain the idea that the people handling the church finances could be dishonest. But, the truth is that fraud is a serious problem in all types of organizations, and churches are certainly not immune.  In fact, churches often have limited resources and staff, which makes it difficult to establish adequate internal controls. This creates an opportunity for fr...

“We have such wonderful staff. They would never do anything.” “Oh, he’s been a volunteer counter for years. We trust Bill.” “Our staff is so small. Thankfully, Jill is able to handle everything.” How many times have you heard statements like these? No matter the person, trust is unfortunately not an internal control. Too many times, fraud occurs with the person most trusted. The perso...