Personal Use of Treasury Computer
Some of you use your personal computer for church treasury business. That's ok. But best practice is for the church to own a computer that is used exclusively for treasury work. This not only sets a clear boundary that the computer and the information on it belongs to the church, but it facilitates transfer of the treasurer's job to the next person when needed, and keeps your personal information separate so that if and when emergency access to the church books is needed, your personal information is not exposed.
As you use the treasury computer here are a few thoughts.
Although this computer is in your sole possession, the treasury laptop is not your personal machine.
- Not for family members to borrow.
- Not for your children to use for schoolwork or to play games.
- Not for you to keep track of your personal finances and emails.
- Not for you to play games or load your own ministries or programs.
- Not to store personal medical information.
- Not to load your photo and name as owner and open your Microsoft account or emails
- Not to watch movies or download music or surf the internet.
- Not to trade back and forth every week between the church clerk and AV dept.
- Not to link with other church departments via a church Microsoft account.
- It is church property, to keep separate and to use for church treasury purposes only.
- It has private, personal info on it and must be protected and then passed on to the next treasurer.
One auditor cleaned up a treasury computer that still had personal banking info from the previous treasurer. They had set it up as their own personal device, with personal records and emails and passwords and personal Microsoft account. It had Jewel on it, but other than that, the auditor would not have known from looking at it that it was a church computer!
If you were voted in for church office and received a church key for the first time, would you move in and start sleeping in one of the Sabbath School rooms, eating from the fellowship hall fridge and pantry, or borrowing the church mower to mow your own lawn? Of course not! In the same way, consider this computer as church property, to be used only for church business.
You may need to access church email using your personal email account from time to time, but please don’t use it regularly for your own email. And when it is time for you to retire as treasurer and pass along the computer to the next treasurer, you will not want your personal passwords and information on it anyway, so don’t put them there to start with.
Nothing should be put on the treasury computer that you would not want the auditor or the next treasurer to see or have access to, if you were suddenly to pass away or be disabled. We have seen it happen.
When used only for church treasury work, treasury computers do not need purchased anti-virus programs. The security protection that Windows provides for free is adequate.
Computers don’t last forever. They do get old and slow. And USB ports quit working and space bars get sluggish. Using the treasury computer only for treasury use lowers wear and tear, limits the chance of data loss through theft or damage to the computer, and also lessens the chance of computer virus, malware and spyware issues.
We recommend that the computer and Jewel be password protected, even if you are the only one who uses it. We also recommend having a padded carrying case for it, so it can be protected while carrying it to finance and board meetings.
Return to Chapter 13: Fraud Prevention for Churches
Return to previous section: Bank Rec Comparison for Monthly Oversight