Church finances are the responsibility of the church’s leadership. This could be the church finance committee, finance team, church board, elders, or others, depending on the church’s governance structure.

The purpose of a church finance committee is to steward the church’s financial resources. They provide oversight and accountability and help the church make informed financial decisions.

The role of the church finance committee is to review and oversee the church’s financial resources, making sure that they are managed responsibly, transparently, and in support of the church’s mission. They are generally not responsible for the day-to-day bookkeeping (usually the role of a church bookkeeper or treasurer).

The duties and responsibilities of a church finance committee are:

• Create and monitor a reasonable budget

• Manage cash flow

• Oversee payroll

• Oversee financial reporting and review financial reports

• Oversee debt

• Plan for cash reserves, major expenses, unexpected expenses, and ministry growth opportunities

• Oversee internal controls and financial policies

• Make sure the budget and use of funds align with the church’s mission and vision

• Know the balance of each designated fund and spend those funds only for their designated purpose.

• Work with the church bookkeeper

• Work together as a leadership team

Some of the ways in which a church finance committee oversees financial reporting and the health of the church’s finances are:

• Reviewing and analyzing monthly financial statements.

• Comparing realized expenses to the budget and investigating significant budget variances.

• Monitoring the cash flow and having conversations around making adjustments if the cash flow is negative or exceptionally positive.

• Taking the lead on establishing and monitoring internal controls. There should be a separation of duties for handling of funds to protect the church’s finances and those working with the church’s finances.

• Approving and/or recommending major expenditures.

You can learn more about budgets and stewarding funds with excellence and integrity here: https://youtu.be/4i8TEwd-iUU

For church finance teams, the church financial reports should be able to answer:

• Are we financially healthy?

• Are we staying within budget?

• Are funds aligned with the mission and vision of the church?

• Is there anything we need to address?

Preparing the financial reports with your bookkeeper ahead of time through checks and balances will help the finance committee have the right information they need in their meetings.

It is important that the church finance committee does not just sign off on the numbers but takes time to analyze them.

You can learn more about how to oversee church financial reporting here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKm4rG_GmCdc

We help church finance committees and church financial leadership with a wide range of consultive services including:

• How to read and understand financial reports

• How to use the information in your financial reports

• Budgeting

• Financial statements

• Managing designated funds

• Managing contributions

• Cash flow management

• Financial forecasting

• Payroll (church and clergy payroll is NOT the same as regular business payroll)

• Help you to get the right information you need for making informed financial decisions

We can also help church finance leaders and church finance committees with:

• Setting up internal controls and separation of duties

• Financial reporting setup and cleanup

• Payroll packages and clergy payroll consultation

• Accounting software

• Training for the church bookkeeper or treasurer

We also provide free church financial leadership resources. You can check them out here: https://www.cpachurch.com/church-financial-leadership-resources