Custodian of the Budget: Difference between revisions
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You are tasked with being the custodian of church funds. Your observations are critically important to the efficient financial management of the church. So speak up! | You are tasked with being the custodian of church funds. Your observations are critically important to the efficient financial management of the church. So speak up! | ||
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[[Budget|Return to Chapter 5: Budget]] | |||
[[How to Set Up Budget Allocations|Return to previous section: How to Set Up Budget Allocations]] | |||
[[Budget Busters & FAQ|Continue to next section: Budget Busters & FAQ]] | |||
Revision as of 00:08, 26 November 2025
As church treasurer, awareness and observation are good skills for you to cultivate. Be a watchman, a steward of the church’s money and property. A steward doesn’t own, they manage or look after, and you can look out for the best interest of the church’s financial picture in some of the following ways:
You might be the only one who has the information to discover a water leak or a problem in another utility, since you see and pay the bills. Notice and bring to the board’s attention if money could be saved in other areas. By using the “Trends in Income & Expense - How to research” tutorial, you can learn to spot changes in your church’s giving and spending, in time to bring it to the church board’s attention.
As you observe the budget allocations each month, if you see a local fund that is going deeper in the hole for several months in a row, ask the board about increasing its allocations. If you see money building up in an expense fund, showing that it was over-allocated, ask to lower its allocations. Are allocations being given to a fund that already has plenty of money? Notice and present options to the board.
If a ministry is consistently using more than the budget it has been given, communicate with the ministry leader and find out if they are aware of their budgetary limit or if they need to ask the board for more funding.
Do you have one or more local funds on your financial summary that haven’t changed for years? Find out where the funds came from originally and what their purpose was. Talk to the board about spending them for their intended use, rather than letting them sit there. Research inactive funds whose purpose no one remembers anymore.
Are there outstanding deposits or outstanding checks on your reconcile page that are affecting the accuracy of your monthly reports? Learn to void or reverse them.
You are tasked with being the custodian of church funds. Your observations are critically important to the efficient financial management of the church. So speak up!
Return to previous section: How to Set Up Budget Allocations