The following are my personal opinions of serving in the Assistant Ward Clerk - Finance calling. Please follow current Church Guidelines and Priesthood Leaders.
Donations
- Learn the hotkeys in MLS:
- Up and down arrow for finding names
- Tab or enter for advancing to the next field
- Page Down and Up for advancing to check section and cash/coin fields
- Alt-S to save donation
- Some folks like to open the envelopes to check accuracy and create a pile of the donation paperwork before entering into the computer. This may work for checks, but envelopes with coins and cash are just too risky. Open each of those envelopes and process one-at-a-time into the computer.
- Occasionally, a member may want to donate into a specific missionary's account, but remain anonymous. To prevent accidental disclosure, instead donate the funds to the ward mission fund, followed by a transfer of the same amount to the specific missionary account. You can add a description in the transfer that this is an anonymous donor.
- Educate missionary families:
- The Church withdraws mission expenses the first month no matter the start date, but does not withdraw the final month.
- Because they are tax-deductible, donations are a free will offering and thus non-refundable. Families may not want to pre-pay too far in advance into a missionary account in case they come home early for any reason. In the event there is a surplus, donations can be re-categorized after the fact to tithing with the Bishop's permission.
- Encourage out-of-unit friends and families that want to donate to use the Church's online donation system. Provide them the unit number so that they can look up their missionary. If they choose to mail a check instead, obtain and input their membership ID so that their donation will automatically appear on their annual statement.
- Periodically announce to members a reminder to only include fast offering expenses in the fast offering envelopes. Including tithing in unsealed envelopes increases the liability on the Aaronic Priesthood.
- Encourage members to use the online donation system. It is simple to use, creates an immediate receipt, and reduces liability on the clerks and Bishopric. Consider posting instructions underneath the envelope/donation slip box.
Expenses
- All expenses require some kind of paper evidence and the Bishop's authorization. For Distribution orders, print out the statement and a signature line for the Bishop. In the event of a lost receipt, ask the member for a signed note with as many details as possible. The note could also include a signature from an additional witness.
- Policy requires expense request paperwork, but does not specify the format. For better organization, consider adding the check number and date to the authorization slip as an easy notification that the check has already been printed for that expense request.
- Fast offering expenses:
- Whenever possible, obtain paper or electronic full statements for fast offering expenses before producing the check. Leverage and momentum for obtaining documentation is considerably reduced after the check is delivered. Also, help the Bishop by identifying any irregularities or excesses in the statements.
- Fast offering checks should generally be written to the service and material providers, not the members. Rather than mailing the checks on behalf of the members, let them assume the responsibility and accountability for delivering the checks.
- Record the account numbers for the member's account with the provider in the "Purpose" field, otherwise the check may not be associated with the member when received by the provider. Watch out for a bug in MLS--if you forget to add the account number before saving, do not try to edit the check memo afterwards. It won't save; instead delete the expense and create a new one.
Budget
- Push accountability to the organizations by avoiding shared categories, e.g. Curriculum, Distribution Center. Shared budget categories are prone to overspending, because responsibility is spread too thin. Instead, require the auxiliaries to budget manuals and anything that would need to be ordered from the Distribution Center or Staples. When a Distribution Center order expense posts in MLS, go into the expense, recategorize to the requesting auxiliary, and type a description that the "____ expense is charged to the specific _____ organization."
- During the annual budget planning, ask budget owners (typically Ward Council) to submit a budget request with line items.
- Consolidate the budget requests into a single spreadsheet workbook. Meet with the Bishop to consider each line item, and allocate the request amount, less or more. This may consistitute a pre-approval for the expense, as required by the handbook.
- When allocating the annual budget, hold back a "Management reserve" of 5 to 15% to allow the Bishop to consider unexpected new budget requests throughout the year.
- Remind leaders and members to always reimburse items and services for their calling. They may be acting with an attitude of service, but it is not fair to other members of less financial resources, and it against policy. Watch out for gas on long distance trips and nursery snacks.
Records
- A Finance Clerk strives to reduce the administrative burden of the Bishop, who maintains the ultimate responsibility for Finances. Rather than tracking the Bishop down for every signature, place all the paperwork in a secure folder so that he may sign at his convenience in his week and return back to the Finance box.
- Store all records in a consistent order. Newest in front works well.
- Batch reports are not audited, and may be a waste of paper to print. Perhaps the Finance Clerk may ask others who are conducing financial transacations in his absence to print this out and place in his box so he can review transactions upon his return.
Tithing Settlement
- Use Tithing Settlement to update Individual Ordinance Summary sheets, take pictures, conduct surveys, creating LDS.org accounts, and educating on using the online tools.
- With the Bishop's approval, you may need to knock on the door to help keep the schedule with everyone the Bishop needs to visit with. The Bishop may choose to continue or schedule a follow-up appointment to speak with the family further.
Tax Statements
- Tax statements are typically made available during the week before the last Sunday of January.
- Starting with the 2015 tax year, use the Church's new consolidated statements that track donations across multiple wards. They come pre-signed by the Treasury department and don't require burdening the Bishop with signatures.
- Encourage members to obtain their tax statements on lds.org. Educate them that there is an option to consolidate the spouses donation on their statement, but the spouse will need to login and click the option.
- Consolidated pre-signed statements for members that have never used the online system will appear in MLS under Finance Statements. Depending on the circumstance, this may be a good opportunity to educate the members how to use the Church's online resources.
