I am an authority on finding errors or mistakes (whatever you call them) in church books. I might as well carry a hand magnifying glass, wear a brown derby hat, and large wire frames glasses. Maybe I should add the letters to the end of my name…FBI or PI!
In all my years (14) of cleaning up messes though, I have never discovered willful neglect. It’s always from inexperience and lack of training. Don’t get me wrong I make mistakes too. We all do! I had a boss in sales once that always said, “It’s not that you make mistakes, its how you fix them that counts”.
Here are four methods I use to find errors.
#1 Track everything under the sun. For example I track water usage for every meter we have. One month the irrigation meter was triple its normal monthly cost. We discovered a leak underground that no one noticed.
#2 Balance everything. I always look for ways to balance numbers making sure they make sense and lead you back to the source. When you balance it helps others see the whole picture with you. Financial books should balance anyway, so just do it.
#3 Look at detail every day. I print a detail budget report every Monday and read every line item looking for errors. Bookkeepers post backwards by mistake and that will show up on this report. Expenses get posted to the wrong accounts. It happens! Just watch for them and correct them.
#4 Document everything you do. I use forms to help me document what needs to change or happen. If I am asked to transfer money from accounts I ask for a Transfer Form to post by. Never handle church books verbally! Get it in writing and make the entry correctly.
Do you find errors or mistakes at your church?
What methods do you use to ensure the books are correct?
Share a comment? Start a discussion!
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook