The Diocese of Bridgeport's ongoing commitment to improving and enhancing financial controls at the Parish and Diocesan levels is apparent as "Six Key Elements" of a new program are being implemented

BRIDGEPORT - updated March 3, 2008 - The Diocese of Bridgeport's ongoing commitment to improving and enhancing financial controls at the parish and diocesan levels is apparent as "Six Key Elements" (listed below) of a new program are being implemented.

Details of the plan were unveiled in November 2006 to representatives of all 87 parishes at five regional meetings throughout Fairfield County. Attendees included Pastors and members of Parish Finance Councils and Parish Councils.

The plan is spearheaded by the Diocesan Finance Office, which includes Parish Finance Services.

CAPTION: BISHOP LORI unveils the six "key elements" at a meeting (right) of all priests of the Diocese on October 30, 2006.

Proposals for the program were recommended by a task force appointed by Bishop William E. Lori. The task force consisted of three priests from the College of Consultors and three lay members of the Diocesan Finance Council, in collaboration with Chief Financial Officer, Norm Walker, and the Finance Director of Parish Finance Services, Deacon William Koniers.

A Collaborative Effort

"This is a collaborative effort," says Bishop Lori. "With this plan we are building upon a solid foundation of transparency and accountability.

"We are offering to our Pastors, Parochial Vicars, and parish lay leadership six key elements to assist in meeting the financial responsibilities incumbent upon each parish of the diocese," Bishop Lori continues. "We are grateful to them for their expertise and time in helping the Diocese to more fully develop these elements. With their continued dedication of time and talent, we will continue to refine these key elements to assist Pastors in the financial management of the parish and to provide assurance to parishioners that their treasure is being effectively used to reflect the mission Christ has given to us."

Great Progress

"We are making great progress, with the support and advice of our Pastors and their staff," reports Deacon Koniers. "It's been a busy first quarter, and we have much good news to report." This includes:

• Audit firms were engaged to perform parish reviews throughout 2007. Financial procedure reviews have now been completed in all 87 parishes, or 100 percent of all parishes. "These reviews have been uniformly positive, because we are learning how we can improve," says Deacon Koniers.

• After each review, a meeting of the Parish Corporation takes place. "We try to schedule these meetings as soon as possible," Deacon Koniers notes. "These meetings are an opportunity to share the results of the review with the Pastor, Lay Members of the Parish Corporation, and the Parish Finance Council Members in order to understand the findings, learn new methods, and plan for the future."

CAPTION: "Many people are not aware of the enhanced reporting features available within the QuickBooks accounting software that can make parish financial reporting easier and more efficient," CPA Mary Miller (right, at left) tells Louise Stewart-Spagnuolo, director of diocesan human resources, and Sonia Rodrigues, secretary of Saint Mary Parish in Bridgeport, as Deacon William Koniers, director of parish finance services, looks on. This exchange occurred at a work session organized by Deacon Koniers at the Catholic Center which brought together parish bookkeepers, accountants, and professional advisors to explore ways the diocese can enhance its assistance to parishes. "We assembled many talented people from our parishes, and we're starting to work together as a team," says Deacon Koniers. "This advisory group will be instrumental in joining our pastors to support our mission this year to implement enhanced financial procedures and controls in all 87 parishes of our diocese." (PHOTO BY PAT HENNESSY)

• The Parish Accounting and Procedures Manual (newly-rechristened the Parish Administration & Finance Manual) has now been updated and published. Training is under way for all Clergy, Parish Business Managers, Accountants, and Bookkeepers, and members of all 87 Parish Finance Councils. To download the Manual, click here.

• On May 8, the Diocese launched its new, Internet-based Parish Accounting System. All 87 parishes, or 100 percent of all parishes, have received training and undergone conversion. Click here for more details.

• In all 87 parishes on May 12-13, 2007, the Diocese announced a new Parish Finance Program showing how clergy, religious, employees, volunteers, and parishioners can communicate any concerns they may have about parish finances.

• In conjunction with the new Parish Accounting System, a new, comprehensive Parish Chart of Accounts was formulated in order to improve parish management reporting. This enhancement will assist Pastors and their staffs to analyze better their operating results on an ongoing basis.

• Training for pastors and designated laity is under way.

Six Key Elements
for Enhancing Parish Financial Controls and Related Monitoring
in the Diocese of Bridgeport

1. Refine and update the Parish Accounting & Procedures Manual (circa 2002; now rechristened the Parish Administration & Finance Manual) to make it more user-friendly and to reflect best practices, including the necessity for effective parish finance councils and parishes establishing guidelines for appropriate levels of parish expenditures. Design and deliver training as appropriate for pastors, parish finance council members, business managers, accountants, bookkeepers and count teams. Click here for more details

2. Provide guidance to parishes for improved controls over income that will give parishioners confidence that the Church is fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities for their contributions, i.e. all contributions made are deposited in the parish's bank and properly reported in the parish financial statements. The basic principles for parish collections control are available for download in Microsoft Word: click here.

3. Design new parish financial reports and the underlying general ledger chart of accounts to provide more useful reporting and monitoring at various levels including the pastor, the parish finance council, parishioners and the Diocese.

4. When parishioners have concerns regarding parish financial activities, they are encouraged to communicate directly with their pastors and the Diocese will publish a procedure for parishioners to communicate any unresolved concerns they have to Diocesan Finance Services. Click here for more details

5. A review and tests of parish financial controls and accounting procedures will be performed for most parishes annually, either by independent certified public accounting firms or Diocesan Parish Finance Services depending on the size of the parish. At the conclusion of the review or at a meeting of the Parish Corporation, the results of the review and related recommendations for improvements in the parish's financial controls and accounting procedures will be discussed by representatives of the independent certified public accounting firms or Diocesan Parish Finance Services, as applicable, with the pastor, parish finance council and the lay parish trustees together with representatives of the Bishop's Office and Diocesan Finance Services. More information is available for download in Microsoft Word: click here.

6. To help pastors assess the capabilities of the individual(s) maintaining the parish financial records and to provide additional training or make changes where required. Note that the assessment will include information from 5. above. Changes may include pooling of resources where possible based on level of activity at the parishes and logistical considerations.