Return of Parish Finance Forms, Parish Accounts and the National On-line Parish Return System

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1 Neil Williams Director of Finance The Old Deanery, The Cloisters Exeter EX1 1HS Tel Fax Direct line tel neil.williams@exeter.anglican.org All Treasurers 26 January 2015 Dear Colleague Return of Parish Finance Forms, Parish Accounts and the National On-line Parish Return System Firstly I would like to thank you all for the invaluable work that you do in supporting the work of your parish and enabling people to spread the word of God in Devon. Many of you have already been asking me what is happening this year with the collection of the information provided on the Return of Parish Finance (Green) forms. Over the last two years an increasing number of you have been putting the information from the finance form directly onto the national database that has been developed, called the On-line Parish Returns System. With the help of the Deanery Treasurers over 90% of the parish information was input to the national database last year. This is immensely invaluable as it enables us to get a picture of the state of parish finances. There are a number of advantages to using the on-line system, one of which is that it provides local parishes with 5 years worth of historic finance data and 10 years of attendance data. The system will also ensure that the data entered passes certain standard validation checks, thereby reducing the potential for errors. Parish Finance Forms This year there are four options for the submission of the Parish Finance Forms, although we would encourage as many people as possible to put the information directly onto the national database: The Exeter Diocesan Board of Finance Limited is a company limited by guarantee No registered in England Charity No

2 1. Your parish has registered to use the on-line system and you have already entered the Finance Form data on-line, in which case please accept my thanks (see note below on submitting your accounts) 2. If you would like to enter the data on-line this year, but do not have access to the on-line system, then please contact Charlotte Vickers, preferably via at (or telephone ). Charlotte will then arrange to set you up on the national system and provide you with guidance on how to enter the data. 3. If you would still prefer to complete the form manually, then please do so and send it to your Deanery Treasurer or other contact (details attached), who will then arrange for the data to be validated and entered on the system. You may already have sent your form to your Deanery Treasurer or the Old Deanery in which case, thank you. 4. The form can also be handed in with your accounts at the Archdeacons Visitations (see below) Whichever option you choose, please can you keep your Deanery Treasurer informed, so that he/she will know what to look out for. Reconciliation Last year it was not always easy to work out which figures from the accounts had been included in each box on the finance (green) form particularly for the bigger parishes. It would therefore be immensely helpful this year if, when submitting your accounts, you could show where each figure on the finance form has come from in the accounts a simple note would be perfectly adequate in this respect it will make the validation process much quicker. Why do I need to send my Parish Accounts to the Diocesan Office/Deanery Treasurer? Firstly, I would like to explain why we ask parishes to submit copies of their accounts to the Diocesan Office (via Deanery Treasurers). A small number of our parishes are formally registered as charities with the Charity Commission, but the vast majority are what is known as excepted charities, i.e. the parish is considered to be a charity, but does not have to formally register with the Charity Commission. This has been a long standing concession to parishes within the Church of England. The Charity Commission has been content to continue with the concession, as they expect the oversight of the accounts to come from the Diocesan Office. In order for us to fulfil this expectation, we need to receive copies of the accounts, so your assistance in doing this is much appreciated. Submitting my Parish Accounts We have received a number of requests asking whether the Accounts and Parish Finance Return can be delivered at the Archdeacons Visitations, so we are reintroducing this as one option. However, please liaise with your Deanery Treasurer in that respect, to choose the option that works best for all concerned. In all of the

3 above cases please ensure that you send two copies of your parish accounts for 2014, by either delivering these at your local Archdeacon s Visitation, or direct to your Deanery Treasurer (or other nominated contact). Your Deanery Treasurer will then arrange to check the information from the accounts to the finance form and will either validate the entries input on-line, or make the necessary arrangements to input your data to the on-line system. No paper copies will once again be sent to the National Church this year all forms will be input to the on-line system. It is perfectly acceptable to send an electronic copy of your accounts to the Deanery Treasurer (or Diocesan Office), although they must be in PDF format and must be a copy of the signed original, clearly showing the signatures. You will need to contact your Deanery Treasurer if you wish to send an electronic copy in order to obtain their address where they are not on a copy can be sent to me at The Old Deanery. When sending your accounts to the Deanery Treasurer, please confirm that the finance form information has been input to the on-line system if that is the case. Preparing the accounts some issues to watch out for When reviewing accounts over the last few years, there are a number of common misconceptions on how certain information should be presented. The list below covers the most common issues; it is by no means a complete list: 1. It is a legal requirement that each parish must prepare an Annual Report and that this should be approved by the PCC as part of the Accounts. The Annual Report should cover the highlights from the last year and outline the plans for the future (it is not the same as the list of annual reports from each group within the church, e.g. the bell ringers, etc.). Typically an Annual Report would be between 1 4 pages long. I am happy to provide further advice, or send an example across to anyone who does not currently prepare one 2. Where money is transferred out of deposit accounts into the current account, this should be shown as a transfer between funds at the bottom of the Receipts & Payments account one or two people have shown this as investment income, which massively overstates this number (which is then used in the following year s Common Fund calculation) 3. The accounts should clearly identify the separate funds: a. Unrestricted/general reserves b. Designated reserves c. Restricted reserves d. Endowment reserves 4. Only the statutory wedding/funeral fees due to the parish should appear in the accounts. Those passed onto the DBF, or the choir/bell ringers, etc. should be netted off to show a zero in the accounts. Again, if this doesn t happen it will overstate the income from statutory fees

4 We would be extremely grateful if all parish finance forms and accounts can be input/submitted by 31 May 2015 at the latest. Yours sincerely Neil Williams Director of Finance

5 Deanery Treasurer contact details for submission of Parish Finance Forms and Accounts Barnstaple Archdeaconry Barnstaple Deanery Mr Paul Cooper 64 Lynhurst Avenue, BARNSTAPLE, EX31 2HY Hartland Deanery Mr Neil Williams The Old Deanery, The Cloisters, EXETER, EX1 1HS Holsworthy Deanery Mrs Letitia Yetman Buckingham House, Ashwater, BEAWORTHY, EX21 5EY Shirwell Deanery Mr Michael Crabtree Court Farm, Heale, Parracombe, BARNSTAPLE, EX31 4QE South Molton Deanery Mrs Sandra Andrews Ingleside, Gunnsdown Villas, Station Road, SOUTH MOLTON, EX36 3EA Torrington Deanery Mr Harry Chapman Stone Farm, Frithelstockstone, Frithelstock, TORRINGTON, EX38 8JP Exeter Archdeaconry Aylesbeare Deanery Mr Vivian Eddy 16 Oldfields, EXMOUTH, EX8 2EG Cadbury Deanery Mr Geoff Saltmarsh Jackmoor House, Upton Pyne, EXETER, EX5 5HY Christianity Deanery Mr Andrew Withers 46 Union Street, EXETER, EX2 9BA Cullompton Tiverton Deanery Mrs Ginny Metherell 25 Lupin Way, Willand, CULLOMPTON, EX15 2SB Honiton Deanery Mr Simon Byworth Savernake House, Lyme Road, AXMINSTER, EX13 5BE Kenn Deanery Mr Michael Beckett 1 Meadows Edge, Cheriton Bishop, EXETER, EX6 6JS Ottery Deanery Mrs Judy Davis Gosford Pines, Gosford Lane, OTTERY ST MARY, EX11 1LX

6 Plymouth Archdeaconry Plymouth City Deanery Mr Ashley Mason c/o St Mark s Church, 1 Sanctuary Close, PLYMOUTH, PL2 1EN Ivybridge Deanery Mrs Chris Lock 3 Battisborough Cross, Holbeton, PLYMOUTH, PL8 1JT Tavistock Deanery Mr George Nash 23 Broad Park Road, Bere Alston, YELVERTON, PL20 7AH Totnes Archdeaconry Moreton Deanery Mrs Clare Born 11 St Bernards Close, Buckfast, BUCKFASTLEIGH, TQ11 0EL Newton Abbot & Ipplepen Deanery Mr Peter Gay 16 Hosegood Way, Kingsteignton, NEWTON ABBOT, TQ12 3EP Okehampton Deanery Mr Philip Lynn Peard s Acre, South Zeal, OKEHAMPTON, EX20 2JR Torbay Deanery Mr Stephen Macey 28 All Saints Road, Babbacombe, TORQUAY, TQ1 3RD Totnes Deanery Mr Neil Williams The Old Deanery, The Cloisters, EXETER, EX1 1HS Woodleigh Deanery Mr David Scott 3 Benedict Way, Modbury, IVYBRIDGE, PL21 0TJ