¶ There shall be a committee on finance, elected annually by the charge conference upon recommendation by the committee on nominations and leadership development or from the floor, composed of the chairperson; the pastor(s); a lay member of the annual conference; the chairperson of the church council; the chairperson or representative of the committee on pastor-parish relations; a representative of the trustees to be selected by the trustees; the chairperson of the ministry group on stewardship; the lay leader; the financial secretary; the treasurer; the church business administrator; and other members to be added as the charge conference may determine. It is recommended that the chairperson of the committee on finance shall be a member of the church council. The financial secretary, treasurer, and church business administrator, if paid employees, shall be members without vote. The positions of treasurer and financial secretary should not be combined and held by one person, and the persons holding these two positions should not be immediate family members.

o Budgeting and Management o Stewardship and Income o Reporting and Communication o Audit and Internal Controls

All financial askings to be included in the annual budget of the local church shall be submitted to the committee on finance. The committee on finance shall compile annually a complete budget for the local church and submit it to the church council for review and adoption. The committee on finance shall be charged with responsibility for developing and implementing plans that will raise sufficient income to meet the budget adopted by the church council. It shall administer the funds received according to instructions from the church council.

The Pastoral Support Form is a very important document. It is an official agreement between the church and the pastor. Information reported on this form is used for several purposes: o Setting pastoral compensation for the local church / charge. o Reporting compensation to the General Board of Pension o Reporting compensation to the Internal Revenue Service o Reporting compensation to the Appointive Cabinet

Where there is no stewardship ministry area, stewardship shall be the responsibility of a subgroup of the committee on finance or shall be assigned to a task group that shall report to the church council. The committee shall carry out the church council's directions in guiding the treasurer(s) and financial secretary.

o Have you prayed about it? o Does the Leadership Team tithe? o Does the pastor tithe? o Is the program based on the giver’s need to give or the church’s need to receive? o Can you draw a straight line from each line item of your budget to your mission? o Do you talk about stewardship all year? o Stewardship moments

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o The importance of transparency o Reports for Church Council o Reporting to the church o The committee shall carry out the church council's directions in guiding the treasurer(s) and financial secretary

Tax Records Donors who make a contribution of $250 or more must have a “contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the donee organization.” This written document should include the church’s name (perhaps on letterhead) and provide the following data: 1. The name of the donor. 2. The date and amount of each contribution of $250 or more during the year. 3. A statement that no goods or services were provided to the donor in exchange for the contribution. (an exception, of course, is the “intangible religious benefits” provided by the church’s ministry.) 4. A description and good faith estimate of the value of any noncash property contributed.

o under Ministry Resources, Local Church, Pastor o This 60 page booklet offers answers to many common questions about which records to keep and for how long.

Some of the suggested retention periods are for legal reasons, while others are based on practical considerations. You may want to keep some records longer than the table suggests. 1. It is an excellent idea for your organization to discuss and adopt a record retention policy. The guidelines document gives you some suggestions on items to be included in the policy and time periods to be used. 2. When developing a record retention policy, it is important to think about where those files will be kept, how secure those files will be, and the conditions under which files will need to be stored (heat and particularly dampness can be very destructive to files).

3. Some of the reasons to keep files and records include legal requirements, potential relevance in future litigation, and the needs of the organization, as well as historic importance. It goes without saying that should there be threatened litigation or an investigation on a certain subject matter, particular care should be given that no file or document relating to that matter be destroyed. 4. Tax returns and governmental reports affecting tax liability should be kept permanently. However, most backup records, such as receipts documenting income deductions need only be kept for seven years. The Internal Revenue Service calls for a six-year statute of limitations. The IRS has three years from the date of when the income tax return is filed to question or audit it. If the IRS can prove an omission of at least 25%of income, the time period doubles to six years. Therefore, the seven-year period gives a one-year cushion beyond that time limit. While most churches are not required to file tax returns, these periods apply to any entity that must file, as well as individual filers.

5. Of particular importance is the retention of insurance policies and related documents. From time to time, lawsuits are brought which reach back many years. Therefore, it is important to determine the policy in effect at the time that a claim arose. Should those policies be missing, they can often be recreated by contacting your broker or insurance company to establish coverage.

¶ cont’d c) The committee on finance shall establish written financial policies to document the internal controls of the local church. The written financial policies should be reviewed for adequacy and effectiveness annually by the committee on finance and submitted as a report to the charge conference annually.

We suggest the following resources may be helpful in developing Internal Controls policies: a)“Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation – Finance” may be ordered from Cokesbury (ISBN for $2.95). b)“ United Methodist Church Financial Records Handbook” may be ordered from Cokesbury (ISBN Internal policies, at a minimum, might include: who collects, counts, records, and deposits all monies who is part of the counting team (not less than two non-family members should count and verify offerings (258.4a) distribution on contribution records authorization process for purchases check signing policy bank reconciliation reimbursement policy with documentation petty cash disbursement/purposes/accounting

¶ cont’d a) The committee shall designate at least two persons not of the immediate family residing in the same household to count the offering. They shall work under the supervision of the financial secretary. A record of all funds received shall be given to the financial secretary and treasurer. Funds received shall be deposited promptly in accordance with the procedures established by the committee on finance. The financial secretary shall keep records of the contributions and payments.

¶ cont’d d) The committee shall make provision for an annual audit of the financial statements of the local church and all its organizations and accounts… A local church audit is defined as an independent evaluation of the financial reports and records and the internal controls of the local church by a qualified person or persons…

o The audit may include: 1) a review of the cash and investment reconciliations 2) interviews with the treasurer, financial secretary, pastor(s), finance committee chair, business manager, those who count offerings, church secretary, etc., with inquiries regarding compliance with existing written financial policies and procedures 3) a review of journal entries and authorized check signers for each checking and investment account 4) other procedures requested by the committee on finance.

moumethodist.org/forms/ Search Audit The committee shall make a full and complete report to the annual charge conference.

o The audit shall be performed by an audit committee composed of persons unrelated to the persons listed in (2) above or by an independent certified public accountant (CPA), accounting firm, or equivalent.

¶ cont’d f) Contributions designated for specific causes and objects shall be promptly forwarded according to the intent of the donor and shall not be used for any other purpose. 11 g) After the budget of the local church has been approved, additional appropriations or changes in the budget must be approved by the church council. h) The committee shall prepare annually a report to the church council of all designated funds that separate from the current expense budget. 11. See Judicial Council Decision 976.

o Receives funds o Oversees counting o Keeps donor records

o Keeps records o Prepares reports o Disburses funds

o  Departments & Services  Legal services o  Church & Clergy Tax Guide

Everybody asks, so here it is…

o Apportionments are based solely on expenses reported on Table II of the year end statistical reports, lines 53 through 62 minus 61A. o These lines represent the operating expenses of the church and exclude expenses related to capital improvements, building programs, and preschool programs.

1. Average Qualified Expenses 2. Find Conference Total Expense 3. Determine the Decimal 4. Multiply by the Budget 5. Consider the 30% Limit

o To calculate a church’s 2013 apportionments we average their qualified expenses from the 2011, 2010 & 2009 year end statistics for each church.

Church No.Church Name 2009 Qualified Expenses 2010 Qualified Expenses 2011 Qualified Expenses Three Year Average 12065Southwest City$23,120$23,538$24,596$23, Saint James UMC (Joplin)$59,283$51,212$42,198$50, Saint Paul's (Joplin)$726,911$734,657$771,399$744, Stella$25,659$32,649$30,325$29, Trinity (Joplin)$3,900$3,400$3,700$3, Wanda$4,657$12,108$12,051$9, Washburn$12,911$13,867$11,500$12, Wheaton$37,791$39,971$37,930$38, Pathways (Alba)$93,420$116,178$115,768$108, Schell City$23,890$24,400$24,295$24, Plenitud UMC$0 $41,665$13,888 Conference Total$86,815,298$88,225,274$90,861,500$88,925,043

o We then total all of these expenses for every church across the conference.

Church No.Church Name 2009 Qualified Expenses 2010 Qualified Expenses 2011 Qualified Expenses Three Year Average 12065Southwest City$23,120$23,538$24,596$23, Saint James UMC (Joplin)$59,283$51,212$42,198$50, Saint Paul's (Joplin)$726,911$734,657$771,399$744, Stella$25,659$32,649$30,325$29, Trinity (Joplin)$3,900$3,400$3,700$3, Wanda$4,657$12,108$12,051$9, Washburn$12,911$13,867$11,500$12, Wheaton$37,791$39,971$37,930$38, Pathways (Alba)$93,420$116,178$115,768$108, Schell City$23,890$24,400$24,295$24, Plenitud UMC$0 $41,665$13,888 Conference Total$86,815,298$88,225,274$90,861,500$88,925,043

o Whatever portion of the total your church represents is your “decimal” or the percentage of the apportionments total for which your church is responsible.

Church No.Church Name 2009 Qualified Expenses 2010 Qualified Expenses 2011 Qualified Expenses Three Year Average 2013 Decimal 12065Southwest City$23,120$23,538$24,596$23, Saint James UMC (Joplin)$59,283$51,212$42,198$50, Saint Paul's (Joplin)$726,911$734,657$771,399$744, Stella$25,659$32,649$30,325$29, Trinity (Joplin)$3,900$3,400$3,700$3, Wanda$4,657$12,108$12,051$9, Washburn$12,911$13,867$11,500$12, Wheaton$37,791$39,971$37,930$38, Pathways (Alba)$93,420$116,178$115,768$108, Schell City$23,890$24,400$24,295$24, Plenitud UMC$0 $41,665$13, Conference Total $86,815,29 8 $88,225,27 4 $90,861,50 0$88,925,

o Your decimal is then multiplied by the approved budget and we get your apportionment.

o There is one exception, no church’s apportionments may increase or decrease by more than 30% in any given year.

1. Average Qualified Expenses 2. Find Conference Total Expense 3. Determine the Decimal 4. Multiply by the Budget 5. Consider the 30% Limit

o Local Church Spending relating to the Conference Total The Conference Total spending has been increasing between 2% and 3% per year. o The Conference Budget o Closed Churches o Please note that the three year averaging of expenses will reduce the impact of any one year’s variance.