- - And the Lord direct your heart in the love of God as you faithfully serve Him  - -

Various Links on this Web Site include:      HOME  |  ABOUT  US   |    OUR PURPOSE   |   SITEMAP   |  COMPUTER FUND ACCTG  |  HELPS

 TO:  Interested Onliners or Ministries                                                                                 FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired CPA-Auditor
                                                                                                                                      FILE:  0206-03/jrnl
   
 RE: J I Ms  J R N L  for the month of June  2003                                                                                      Originated:  June, 2003  

PURPOSE:  To help your  Ministry Finance Team  be more effective:

Big Pix (1)

    In our signature  0041 document we refer to the General Purpose Fund - GPF and a variety of Special Purpose Funds - SPFs.  The major GPF reporting objective is to know if such income is covering the operating expenses and if such expenses are according to the authorized Budget.  And since the applicable SPF can only spend it's balance, the reader needs to know this info for the respective SPF. 
    Since such financial statements can get quite detailed, it is important for Ministry leaders to have an overview of their finances.  We recommend that such Key Item Trend Statement - KITS reports be in such a format as displayed here.  Please note that the Fund status and Operating Actual to Budget data, and other succinct data,  is clearly indicated in such a one-page "Big-Pix" report.   Ask me at JimRetCPA@bcidot.org  when such a report needs to also include an overview of your Building project, also.

Busby, Dan  (2)

    Please see  0205  for reference to Dan's meeting this month with the Bay Area CMA Chapter.  I was impressed with such issues as the following:

        >>  Such groups need to document and be sure of applicable Online security/procedures/policies/safety, etc.
        >>  Donations via the Internet is a much higher ratio of the total donations to Non Church Ministries than a year ago.
        >>  He provided a list of some 30 known Online Donation Vendors
        >>   It is now OK to issue a tax deductible Email donation receipt.

    Someone asked:  Question: "Since you examine the books of so many ECFA members during a year, where is the most likely improvement needed?"  Answer:  "Documentation of reimbursed business expenses (Ministry Expenses) incurred by staff and volunteers." 

Finance Committee of the Board and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (3)                 

    Some time ago it was my privilege to work with a Ministry then over 40 years old.  They were just setting up and beginning to use a Board appointed FinCom (Finance Committee)   0027  and be led effectively by the Chief (or corporate) Financial Officer (CFO), or the Volunteer Treasurer of the Board.  
    Since this was quite new to some of them, there were a number of questions raised by both the paid Staff Members and the Board Members which needed to be rehearsed. It seemed that portions of material shared with them could be of broader interest. Please go to  0015  and  0095  for more perspective.

VOLUNTEER BOARD COMMITTEES

    Initially we needed to reflect on the fact that Committee's in general are the butt of many jokes due to their ineffectiveness; e.g., "A committee is a body that keep minutes and wastes hours". 
    We reviewed in depth the real value of effective Volunteer Board Committee work and how important good 'Task Forces', or Committees, should be for the overall good of a Ministry. The Finance Committee (FinCom) , for instance, needs to focus in on Finance matters and then report relevant issues back to the Board in a written condensed manner.
    The person providing the quote below is undoubtedly from the financial community, but this person probably has been involved enough with "Volunteer Groups" such as Churches, Mission Groups and Christian Schools, to know the value of a healthy emphasis to the stewardship of 'financial' resources.

    QUOTE --- "Of any of the Committees of a volunteer Ministry Board, an effective Finance Committee (FinCom) can make the most significant, and practical, contribution to the Ministry's overall health."

CORPORATE, OR CHIEF, FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO)

    The critical corporate fiscal person, or leader, is the CFO. Usually this is a very busy 'volunteer' person and many of these matters must be delegated to the Staff - who might include either paid or unpaid Business Administrators, Accountants, Bookkeepers or Clerks, and, in some cases, the Ministry Executive or CEO. 

    1. The FinCom meetings themselves should be chaired by the CFO, often referred to as the corporate, or Board, 'Treasurer'.  We prefer the CFO title in volunteer groups because sometimes 'Treasurer' means the person doing the actual depositing, check writing and report preparation (Bookkeeper or Accountant). The CFO's tasks should be more 'big-picture-ish' with the CFO's emphasis being an interpreter of the group's finances; rather than the historian. The CFO should be the one Board member fully conversant with the Ministry's finances --- yea, the CFO should know as much as the Ministry CEO. The CFO, of course, is privy to the Board's 'thinking' on Ministry 'doings' (which usually involve money) and therefore must be oriented to financial effect of proposed actions. We are fully aware that some CFOs are also the Bookkeeper, but the real value to the volunteer Board comes from efforts toward CFO activities and not the necessary Staff Members tasks.  They should be expected to assist the CFO but not take the place of the CFO.
    2.. The CFO should be the 'owner' of the monthly financial statements -- the CFO should feel at ease in presenting the financials in person directly to the full Board. The Staff Member, in our opinion, should not be the lead person in presenting the monthly financials to the full Board -- they should only function as the necessary resource person when more detailed information is absolutely vital for financial clarity.
    3. The Board financial statements should be very 'overviewish' and emphasize the key financial status and trends of the Ministry -- do NOT 'major' in trivia. Please see  0045 and 0084 for more info on this topic.
    4. A primary function of the CFO and the FinCom is to insure that the full Board does NOT receive Financial surprises of any sort ---- sometimes good 'stuff'  is as disrupting as bad 'stuff".
    5. The FinCom should carefully develop and recommend Financial Policies 0081 to the full Board for action; plus insure that all such policies are current and relevant.
    6. The CFO, or FinCom, should  NOT DO THE WORK OF  THE STAFF ; the thrust should to be the Paid Staff's leaders and counselors -- augment and appreciate their efforts - do NOT be at cross purposes. Be sure and see that all 'bases are covered',  but,  WE REPEAT, DO NOT DO THE WORK OF THE STAFF.
    7. Do your best to anticipate the financial future as unto the Lord; see that:

•   Plan ahead re needed Cash In/Out Flow.
•   Money is managed to obtain maximum yield on deposits see 0006.
•   The Operating Budget is Board  'owned'  and approved and that it reflects the "here is what we are going to do"  plans as expressed in dollars.
•   Capital or Fixed Assets requirements are authorized and recorded via a budget plan.

    8. The CFO could call FinCom meetings between full Board meetings to cover such items as:

•   Before each full Board meeting -- receive previously defined current financial information from Staff; articulate, or word, proposed Board resolution/motions coming from the FinCom --- often resulting from assignments from the Board.
•   Study and research financial impact of various courses of action.  
•   Define the scope and detail of Board financial statements. 
•   Define and receive the monthly financial reports coming to the FinCom from the Staff.
•   Interact with fellow FinCom members and Staff to insure understanding and communication of fiscal matters.

    9. The CFO should carefully utilize the interests, skills, and experiences of all of the FinCom members. Once a year all the FinCom tasks should be placed on paper and FinCom members choose, in a non-pressured manner, tasks of interest to them.
    10. Accept from the Board the safekeeping of all the assets.  Carefully think through the degree of personal involvement FinCom members can give to specific internal auditing tasks - such as counting cash, verifying by count other negotiable assets, etc. etc. This FinCom, of course, should select the external auditing or CPA firm and then recommend retention to the full Board. You should interact with the CPA firm as to scope of the audits and the reports coming from them. Insure that CPA recommendation are understood and either accepted or rejected.
    11. Be responsible for 'how much of our financial information should be available' to your other staff, constituents and the public
    12. Go through Board or FinCom minutes for some years and extract existing written financial policies - arrange in logical order and making sure they are current or relevant. Click here for more Financial Policy matters
    13. Tips for full Board Member understanding of Financials include: a> keep material relevant and not too voluminous; >> material easily referenced - b> full use of colored paper (9):  c> pages numbered, d> ask members to read out loud portion of handout as the CFO makes the presentation and insure 'that all are reading the same thing, etc.; e>  do not embarrass - be tactful - but all must understand the financials. f> Graphs help to show comparative data.

CFO and STAFF MEMBER RELATIONSHIPS

        The CFO, representing the Board, plus the Staff Members/Chief Executive MUST be in agreement in at least the following matters:

•   The scope of the Staff Member's decision-making authority.
•   Please  Click here for more info on this topic as you carefully go through Job Descriptions to insure understanding and complete task assignment.
•   Clearly understand what the FinCom expects from the Staff Member as to periodic financial statements.
•   Agree as to what and when FinCom and the Board are to receive financial statements; be sure and allow sufficient time so that members can 'digest' before their meeting time. The CFO and the Board Chairman choose meeting dates into the following month, for example, to allow for timely preparation and dissemination of financial data to 'those who should know'. Too often we find meetings unnecessarily scheduled too early in the subsequent month.
•   Sometimes a Staff Member is confused by Board member requests; we recommend that such requests for financial information flow via the CFO.
•   What can the Staff buy or sell without CFO, FinCom or even Board approval - whether Budget approved or not.
•   How much is Staff needed when financial statements are presented to the full Board --- especially when FinCom and/or Board meets regarding Staff compensation.
•   Scope of Staff's involvement in calling, agendizing and participating in FinCom meetings themselves.
•   Recognition of extra Staff Member tasks caused by the FinCom's existence which might include: 1> more meetings; 2> possible extra reporting requirements, 3> additional people interaction.

        To sum it up ------ the Ministry Board should have a functioning FinCom and CFO, or Volunteer Treasurer, in order to care for these important fiscal areas of concern. 
        We trust this contributes to your goal of being the best possible steward of your finances as unto the Lord!

CBAer Training (4)

    When you  Click Here  you go to one of CBA (Church Business Administrator)  Consultant Al Smith's paper available on this web site.  He is convinced that there is a need for CBAers to be better prepared for their CBA assignment.  Plse go to  0923  where I have provided some CBA evaluation helps.  The CBA info for small Churches in  0924  might also be of interest. 
    My concern is, what resources are available out there to meet the need for CBAers to be better prepared? It seems that a reputable entity should provide some Online tutorials or training for Churches and the new CBAers.  Is  NACBA  or are Christian Schools poised to do this? I sure hope that such matters are being addressed.  I am glad that the following Yahoo Group is out there as it is so helpful to all of us:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/churchadmin/ .

HITs Milestone (5)

    Our web site at  www.bcidot.org is well into it's third year.  We keep track of how many come to our web site -- we call them "HITS."   Well, this month we passed the 10,000  "HITS"  mark.  We trust that some of you are being helped !

MangoSoft Internet Service (6)

        Below is a recent dialog with this company.  When you read this, I believe you can see how it complements our  0130  help resource. Let me know if you would like to do some MangoSoft pioneering with me.   

==================================================================================================

To:  Info@mangosoft.com                          From: Jim Bramer
Re:  Your Internet Product                         Date: June, 2003

        Your product looks great.   Please let us know if we are missing anything in the following possible scenario:

  A>  Per the web site www.bcidot.org   you will see that we are an advocate for the use of QBooks at Christian Ministries like: Churches, Mission Orgs, Christian Schools and the like. As to QBooks (QB) and Fund Acctg, please observe the content of 0601.
  B>  There seems to be merit in using your product to connect up with a single remote QB User  and do at least the following:

1> We assist and train the Ministry to set up and utilize QBPro2003 to do their unique Acctg – see 0601 content above.
2> That both of us have access to the same QBPro2003 file via the Internet.
3> We would establish and pay for a five user account with you ($29.95 a month).
4> The user Ministry would reimburse us for their use of this service.
5> We understand that we, along with the Ministry, can have a local copy of the QBPro2003  file (it would not be connected with the Internet) that either of us can update.  At the appropriate time, either of the updated files can be synchronized to the  said Master file out on the Internet. 
6> Via the Internet, either of us can post transactions to the Master QBPro2003 file and view/discuss the current Master file content at the same time
7> At a certain point, the latest Master QBPro2003 file would go to the Ministry and be removed from Internet access.  However, we may later need to view/discuss something again.

  C>   As pointed out within 0130, we are successfully doing only portions of this scenario via the www.gotomypc.com product.

==================================================================================================

To: Jim Bramer From: Rob Parsons [rparsons@rightnetworks.com]

    Mangomind is perfect for this scenario!  To clarify some of your points below with respect to Mangomind.  Mangomind can be closely associated with a server on a Local Area Network (LAN).
In this scenario, you may have several workstations attached to a central server.  Each workstation would have the ability to create a Network Share on the server for storage and retrieval of data.  Mangomind works very much like this: when you create a Mangomind account, you are creating a Network Share on one of our servers at MCI in Massachusetts and connecting to it via the internet.
    Now that you have this connection to a block of space on our server, you can invite others to
access it via the Mangomind properties. Once you and others have created this connection by installing Mangomind, you may copy data to the drive for all of the invited users to access via the internet. 
    Your scenario is much like many of our CPA customers.  The Quickbooks Pro 2003 application will be run locally on each machine while the Quickbooks data file is kept on the Mangomind server accessible via the Mangomind drive.  Now each of the users joined to the drive will have the ability to access this data from any location in the world.
    Plus, Mangomind can be used to share all kinds of data, not just Quickbooks.  You can use the Mangomind drive to share Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Access databases, PowerPoint presentations, Peachtree files, AutoCAD drawings, ACT! databases, and many other types of data files.
    All of your data is encrypted with 128 bit encryption and backed up on a nightly basis for excellent redundancy.  Plus the application moulds directly into the windows operating system to help speed the learning curve and allow you to easily set security for each of your users.
    The best way to become acquainted with the product is by taking a test drive.  Please go to www.mangosoft.com  and sign up for the free trial.

SCRIP (7)

        As detailed more in  0101  and in  5018 , Scrip is a means for constituents of a Ministry to purchase many ordinary items (like food, clothing, fast food etc) and have about an average of 5% of the purchase price (Residual) come back to the Ministry.  Some Ministries arrange it so that it is used at the Ministry per the Constituent's choice. For example, at a church, a Constituent parent can use the Residual to pay certain Church event fees for their kids; or at a School, it is used to reduce what they owe for Tuition/Fees, etc. But generally the Residual is used to simply benefit the overall Ministry itself, etc.  Plse Click Here for an interesting article on this topic.

WEBrec (8)

        In  0165  we show you how that you can use the Internet to get the equivalent of your Bank Statement at any time. If you wish to bank reconcile weekly via an Intuit product (Quicken or QuickBooks), as  0165  suggests,  then  Click Here  and discover if your Financial Institution is in their list.  Someone doing a Weekly Bank Rec needs to watch out for the impact of "after the fact" changes like  voided checks, etc.  Let me know at  JimRetCPA@bcidot.org  if such concerns might apply to you.

Prayerful Thot::

     I hereby request, Dear Lord, as per the sayings on my wall, that you would please "Grant me the "Serenity" to accept the things I cannot change; the "Courage" to change the things I can and the "Wisdom"  to know the difference. "  In the precious name of the Lord Jesus,  Amen