C&B Parish Finance Committee

CAMBERLEY & BAGSHOT CATHOLIC PARISH
PARISH FINANCE COMMITTEE

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Preamble
1. The Camberley & Bagshot (C&B) Catholic Parish guidelines governing accounting are at ANNEX A. The parish will comply with canonical and diocesan regulations concerning the establishment and use of a Parish Finance Committee (PFC). See ANNEX B.

Purpose & Aim
2. PFC members are trusted members of the parish who generously give of their time and expertise to ensure that the assets of the parish are both sensibly and ethically managed. The purpose of the PFC is to provide appropriate stewardship for the resources of the parish. These include both financial and property assets. The aim of the PFC is to ensure that these assets are used wisely for the greater glory of God and for the advancement of mission. Aims of the PFC include ensuring that the parish pays it dues, remains solvent, keeps out of debt and becomes evermore a force for good. The PFC will be a safeguard against the misuse, loss or unnecessary depletion of funds.

Membership
3. Two members each from St Tarcisius, St Peter & St John and Christ the King communities will be appointed by the parish priest to the PFC. The parish priest is President of the PFC. The Parish Planned Giving Officer will always be an ex officio member. Unless he or she is already a member the Parish Treasurer will also be an ex offico member of the PFC. Other ex officio members may be co-opted as required. From time to time consultants and others may be brought onto the PFC for a specific purpose and for a limited duration. It is appropriate that PFC members not be members of other major parish committees during their term of office, which is three years. The incoming PFC will elect the Chair of the PFC during its first meeting in the October of the changeover year. The Parish Priest will retain a veto on this appointment. On the changeover of a Parish Priest the PFC will remain in office for six months after a new appointment is made upon which the new Parish Priest may re-appoint the PFC or appoint a new PFC. The Parish Secretary will serve as secretary to the PFC.

Meetings
4. Meetings will take place at least four times a year and more often as required. The cash flow position of the parish must be presented at each meeting. Minutes of meetings will not be published however a summary may be placed on the parish website and other publications.

Relationship to other Parish Structures
5. The PFC may meet from time to time in joint session with the other two major parish committees: the Parish Advisory Group (PAG) and the C&B Liturgy Group. The Parish Chairman will chair these Parish Teams meetings. Such joint meetings will normally be convened at the time of the AGM but may also be called with the purpose of discussing major policy issues facing the parish.
Principal Objectives
6. The Parish Finance Committee will

a. assist the parish priest in his preaching the Good News and furthering the Kingdom of God.
b. be informed of Church teaching regarding the use of money and social justice .
c. be familiar with the Arundel & Brighton Parish Administration Manual.
d. liaise with the Diocesan Financial Secretary and other diocesan officials as required.
e. review the parish cash flow position and to be responsible for the overall financial management of the parish.
f. set an annual budget.
g. determine and review ring-fenced funds as appropriate.
h. ensure that parish financial returns are submitted on time.
i. ensure that the parish books are ready for audit at all times.
j. provide a financial statement to the parish at each AGM.
k. be responsible for the strategic direction of the parish in terms of stewardship.
l. review and advise on all expenditure requirements above £500.
m. respond to general expenditure requirements also those fabric requirements identified by the Church Management Group.
n. oversee compliance with fire, Health & Safety and other such regulations.
o. oversee and manage investments, bequests and other funds as appropriate.
p. manage the taking and counting of all collections.
q. oversee and annually review the terms and conditions of all parish employees.
r. form sub-committees as required.




Mgr B R MADDERS MBE
Parish Priest





ANNEX A

LOCAL PRACTICE: KEEPING OF PARISH ACCOUNTS (BOOKEEPING)

Internal Control
1. The general principal is that there must be a separation of duties in financial matters. This means that different individuals should be responsible for the activities of receiving and counting collections (Collectors), making deposits and preparing receipts, invoices and payments. Similarly, the person preparing and recording cheques should not also be authorised to sign cheques. It must be recognised that whenever one person is responsible for multiple activities there is loss of internal control.

2. Within this control it is best practice for a distinction to be made between financial policy making (Parish Finance Committee) and good accountancy practice (Treasurer/Bookkeeper). Roles within the Parish Finance Committee should recognise these two distinct functions.

Recording of Accounts
3. All activities from parish accounts must be recorded on the parish records, thereby being subjected to the normal controls and procedures.

Cash Receipts
4. All cheques must be stamped to the credit of the parish immediately upon receipt. All incoming cash must be receipted immediately. Bank deposits must be made on a regular (normally weekly) basis. When practical, cash should be counted and checked by a second individual.

Cheque Signatories
5. The following individuals are authorised to sign cheques:

• The Parish Priest
• The Parish Priest of Our Lady Queen of Heaven, Frimley
• The Dean
• The Financial Secretary of the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton

Bank Reconciliation
6. Bank reconciliation must be done quarterly on all parish bank accounts. Someone other than the person doing the reconciliation must sign the reconciliation.

Budget
7. A Parish Budget will be prepared for each calendar year. The budget will make particular provision for the following items:

• Parish Maintenance/Housekeeping – utilities, salaries, routine expenditure
• Minor Works expenditure (items of upkeep to the value of £1000)
• Major Works expenditure (items of upkeep £1000+)

Cash flow Record
8. All entries should be supported by documentation that is sufficient and comprehensive enough to describe the nature and purpose of the transaction.


Audit/Review Policy
9. An internal audit of parish accounts will be made annually by a qualified person who is not the Treasurer/Bookkeeper.

Data Backup
10. There should be a formal strategy for providing backup of electronic data with secure offsite storage of all data backups.

File Retention
11. The Parish Secretary will maintain a hardcopy file system together with archives so that financial records may be stored for at least seven years.




ANNEX B

FROM THE PARISH ADMINISTRATION MANUAL (PAM)

Reference: PAM 1.4 Duties and Responsibilities of Parish Finance Committee

Can 537: In each parish there must be a finance committee to help and advise the parish priest in the administration of the goods of the parish, without prejudice to Can 532. This also applies to Diocesan parishes staffed by a religious order. The PFC is a consultative body that assists the parish priest. The members of the PFC will also have additional functions, such as fund-raising, gift aid, financial planning in relation to property, etc. It is important that any lay persons willing to offer their services in this way are given full information and understand the nature of their responsibilities.

The PFC must be consulted over any expenditure in excess of £2,000 and before any application for a borrowing facility is requested from the Diocese. The members of the PFC shall be consulted about applications to the Diocesan Finance Committee for permission:

• to carry out work costing more than the permitted maximum (currently £7,500)
• to lease, sell, demolish or structurally alter parish property
• to appoint approved architects or contractors
• for any expenditure other than regular running expenditure by a parish in debt
• to borrow from the bank, Diocese or other parishes for any specific purpose.

The PFC will ensure that any lay staff employed in the parish are, in accordance with Can 1286, paid a fair wage and all civil laws relating to labour observed. In particular tax and National Insurance must be deducted from wages and paid to the State authorities as necessary. All employees should have written employment contracts.
See Section 12 on "Personnel".

The PFC must ensure that, in accordance with Can 1288, all litigation is avoided and that where this is not possible the permission of the Bishop is obtained.
The PFC shall ensure that parish property is well maintained and safe, and due diligence is exercised over all parish assets. The PFC is responsible for re-assessing insurance valuations of properties before renewal. The PFC will have access to all Diocesan procedures and guidelines in connection with finance and property administration.

1.4 Duties and Responsibilities of Parish Finance Committee – continued

The Parish Log of Contacts & Services must be kept up to date. The Inventory should detail all parish owned property. A note should be made of property owned by other residents with a clear distinction between the two. The Parish Inventory should be checked annually. For details of both schedules see Section 9 “Equipment & Services”.

The PFC will have access to the books of account, bank statements and any other documents necessary at every meeting and at other times as necessary. The PFC is responsible for ensuring that full and proper books of accounts are kept in accordance with Diocesan procedures. In addition, a budget must be prepared in advance of the following year, and income and expenditure monitored against it. The annual accounts should be published to the parish and the PFC shall decide on the form in which this will be done so long as they conform to the minimum regulations laid down by the Diocese. The PFC is responsible for ensuring that a copy of the latest Diocesan accounts is made available to the faithful at the back of the church.
Minutes of meetings will be kept and will be made available to the Diocesan auditor and the Bishop on his visitation. The name and address of the Chairman of the PFC shall be forwarded to the Finance Office annually.

1.5 Frequency of Meetings

The PFC should meet at quarterly intervals or more frequently if required. A quorum for meetings is the parish priest and two appointed lay members. In addition, the parish priest may call a meeting at any time giving seven days notice.

1.6 Term of Office of Parish Finance Committee

The appointment of members should be for three years. A member may be re-appointed for a further term of three years. In a parish where there is plenty of lay expertise to assist the priest, members should retire on a rolling basis so that the whole PFC does not retire together. Additional members may be co-opted for a period as determined by the PFC. If, in very small parishes, it is found difficult to find new and competent replacements for those due to retire, the parish priest may use his advisors for longer than the "3 plus 3" years laid down here. But this should occur only in a case of real necessity. The PFC will continue to hold office during a changeover of parish priest. Within six months of his appointment, the new parish priest will appoint a new PFC, which may or may not contain members of the previous PFC.







Membership