Discussion:SMALL CHURCH ,NO F/S
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Discussion Forum Index --> Accounting Questions --> SMALL CHURCH ,NO F/S
Plainfacts (talk|edits) said: | 18 December 2007 |
| I recently met with a Church Pastor..who is interested in having me keep their church Accounting books and getting compiled F/S..trouble is they have never had to keep a Fiancial statement,he is a new pastor..all they have in close well organised fashion is a listing in Excel spreadsheet of Donations and Expenses ..church has been in existence since the 60's..no Mortgage, Assets fully owned ...My question is it correct to recognise the Assets (Building/Furnitures/Piano
at FMV/or reasonable Appraised value.. based on data given by Church and a credit to an Uresrited Fund Account( I think)..I must say I have never done a Church book of Account.. I am just starting out and I want to keep this Client, he will be very helpful in developing my Practise...also since the Assets are fully paid for and was built in 1965..I cannnot even start Depreciation,,even if I want to ..only those relatively new Assets can be depreciated like new Furniture within the 7 year rule...I want some suggestions..please | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 18 December 2007 |
| Sounds like you're on the right track. I would advise them to get a complete inventory (including pictures) of all assets. Be sure to go into each sunday school room and the fellowship hall and open all closets. They will need this in case of fire. Put the pictures and the list somewhere offsite. | |
| 18 December 2007 | |
| I find that many churches want a true cash basis financial. This is especially true if it is small church. They expect net income to equal the change in the bank. They know the building has value, but historic cost and depreciation don't bring any "meaning" to the financials. | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 18 December 2007 |
| Agreed. I wouldn't get real tied up in things such as depreciation. The balance sheet will probably have little meaning for them. They're probably just wanting more sophistication with their P&L and budgeting. I'd take this as an opportunity to do some education (but don't go overboard) and you'll probably pick up even more clients. | |
| 24 December 2007 | |
| Make sure to issue annual contribution statements to the donors however. If kept in excel they can use a simple start version of ACS (church accounting software) and it will allow them to do all that is needed for donors at tax time...:) | |
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