Policies & Procedures

Our Financial and Procedural Policies

Financial Controls

Receipts

1. Two persons, either both assistant treasurers, or the assistant treasurer and a board member will count plate offerings after church.
2. Offerings should be deposited in church bank accounts at earliest convenience, but certainly no later than 2 days after receipt.
3. Donor checks should be promptly stamped “for deposit only” with the church’s account information.
4. As in accordance with the bylaws, confidential records of individual pledges will be kept. Quarterly statements of individual pledge payments will be sent to donors.

Disbursements

1. All disbursements should be made in accordance with the church’s approved budget or by special authorization by the trustees in accordance with the church bylaws.
2. Disbursements should be made only with a proper document for service or product received by the church (receipt, invoice etc.). If no invoice was provided, a receipt should be created articulating the service rendered, the date received and to whom disbursement should be made.
3. All disbursements, except those as noted in subparagraphs (A) below, should be requested using the Disbursement Request form. When requested, such requests should clearly identify the line item in the budget to which the expense pertains.
4. Regularly occurring expenses such as utilities require only the bill or invoice.
5. Any disbursements over $500 require the written approval of two members of the board of trustees. Email is an acceptable form of written approval.
6. Passwords and accounts for online banking should be maintained in a secure manner.

Segregation of Duties

1. Bank Statements should be reconciled with recorded receipts and disbursements by the bookkeeper. The bookkeeper shall not have disbursement authority.
2. Segregation of financial duties should be as follows:
3. Assistant Treasurer records receipts.
4. Treasurer and Designated Trustee make disbursements.
5. Bookkeeper reconciles bank statements.

Review

1. An audit will be prepared annually by an independent source.
2. A budget will be prepared annually based on input from the committee chairs and brought forward to the congregation for approval.
3. Monthly financial statements will be provided to board of trustees members, and reviewed at the board of trustees meeting.
4. If any financial irregularities are suspected, the board of trustees will select a subcommittee to investigate the incident. This action will be included in the minutes of the meeting. The committee’s findings will also be included in the minutes of the board of trustees meeting.
5. Review of signing authority on church bank accounts should be performed annually.
   

Disbursement Procedure

If you purchase something on behalf of the church, you should use the following procedures:

1. Refer to the financial controls to ensure the disbursement is allowed
2. Complete the disbursement request form (PDF or Excel)
3. If your disbursement needs approval, get the appropriate signature or cc the approving person on your email
4. Send the completed form for approval in one of the following ways
5. Email to expenses at meridenucc.org with scanned receipts (preferred)
6. Print with receipts attached with a paper clip (please don’t staple) and place in the treasurer slot in the parsonage

The funds will be sent to the requested address within 2 weeks.

Please be aware that it is difficult to have checks sent in less than 1 week, so please plan ahead if you need the check by a certain date.