Adopted verbatim (or virtually verbatim) from old Financial Policy

The ministries of Ingleside Baptist Church are supported by the gifts of its members, regular attenders, and others, through tithes and offerings which are classified either as designated or undesignated depending upon the instructions of the contributor.

The proper administration of Church funds requires a complete and thorough financial control system. The Senior Pastor and senior staff shall develop, implement, and maintain specific procedures designed to ensure that all funds are 1) properly accounted for and safeguarded, 2) expended in accordance with the purposes of the Church, and 3) used in a manner that is consistent with the budget parameters approved by the Overseers and the Church, as part of the annual budgeting process. Sound judgement shall be exercised in the management of all funds which the Lord, through His servants, has made available to the Church. All funds received are intended for the furtherance of God’s purposes for Ingleside Baptist Church, and shall be handled accordingly.

This Financial Policy shall serve as the basis for development of the specific procedures needed to ensure the overall financial integrity of Ingleside Baptist Church. [back to top]

SECTION II - Receipts

A. Receipts of Contributions (Tithes and Offerings)

The Senior Pastor and senior staff shall devise and implement specific procedures to handle the receipt of all funds in such a manner as to ensure accuracy, security, and confidentiality. These procedures shall encompass, at a minimum, the following components in order to ensure the integrity of the overall control system:

1. All funds collected during regular church services shall be immediately secured inside of lockable bank bags, by at least two individuals. The locked bags will then be collected by the Overseer, serving as Receiver for the day, and delivered to the bank’s night depository drawer. The funds will remain at the bank for safe keeping until the next business morning when retrieved and counted by the Offering Counters Ministry Team.

2. Members of the volunteer Offering Counters Ministry Team shall be recruited, as needed, by the Ministry Team Leadership and/or the Business Administrator. They shall count and prepare the deposit each Monday morning (Tuesday on weeks when Monday is a bank holiday).

3. The Ministry Team shall deposit all cash and checks, and forward contribution envelopes, and a listing of all checks that were received without an envelope, to the Financial Services Office for posting to individual contribution records.

4. At least two persons shall always be present during the counting of funds. Any irregularity or problem encountered by a Counter should be communicated to the Business Administrator or Financial Secretary immediately. [back to top]

B. Other Cash Receipts

Any contributions made to the Church at times other than during regular or special services shall be forwarded to the Financial Services Office for counting and account coding. The funds are then secured and locked in a bank deposit bag to be retrieved by the Sunday Morning Receiver and transported to the bank along with the Sunday morning receipts.

All funds collected by staff members as fees for the support of various Church programs and functions are to be counted as soon as possible after receipt, accounted for in the individual subsidiary records of the collecting Ministry area, and immediately delivered, along with appropriate supporting documentation, to the Financial Services Office. No purchases are to be made from any cash collected. Any amounts needed for purchases are to be obtained through the Church’s regular purchasing processes, as stipulated in Section III of this policy. [back to top]

C. Contribution Records

The records of gifts from individuals shall be maintained with the strictest level of confidentiality by the Financial Services Office. Individual contribution records shall reflect information relating to gifts that meet the following criteria:

· Cash (or check) contributions only

· Given on or before December 31 of the tax (calendar) year

· Unconditional and without benefit, other than intangible religious benefit

· To or for the use of the Church.

The Financial Services Office shall prepare and mail quarterly contribution statements to all individuals who have given to the Church over the preceding three month period.

The value of time or services contributed by an individual to the Church will not be assigned a value by the Church or posted to the individual’s record of contribution.

The Church does not accept as contributions any receipts for items bought by a person for use by the Church. Examples of such items would be refreshments and teaching supplies for a Bible Study class. The individual is free to use those receipts as evidence of a contribution to a tax exempt organization for an itemized deduction, but the Church shall provide no documentation for such transactions. In most cases, the individual is encouraged to discuss such purchases with the staff member responsible for the ministry area for possible reimbursement.

To be included in a given year’s record of contribution, the contribution must be received on or before December 31, or if mailed, the envelope must reflect a postmark of no later than December 31. Checks dated December 31, but postmarked or received after that date shall be applied to the individual’s subsequent year contribution record. [back to top]

D. Gifts of Real Property

Before accepting gifts of real estate, the Church shall perform certain procedures and research to establish the suitability of the property for acceptance as a charitable contribution. Specific procedures shall be established, and may include such investigatory steps as:

1. Legal review of the status of the property offered. Such review may include: Survey, UCC-1 search for existing liens, Estoppel letters, Evidence of paid taxes, Environmental Assessments, Estimates of realtor fees incurred from property disposition, and such other steps as deemed necessary.

2. Financial review of the real property value shall be made by the Business Administrator. This review may include obtaining the following: State certified appraisal (at donor’s expense); Expert opinion as to marketability; Inspections of structural integrity, environmental condition, and regulatory code compliance; Estimated costs of insuring the property prior to sale; and other steps as deemed necessary.

3. All forms of real property gifts must be approved by the Business Administrator before the gift is accepted from the donor.

4. If the real property is accepted by the Church, an acknowledgment letter will be sent by the Business Administrator to the donor stating the acceptance of the property gift and confirming the donor’s intended designation.

Disposition of real property, accepted as gifts by the Church, shall proceed as follows:

1. Any gifts of real property, not anticipated for use in the ministry purposes of the Church, shall be sold and converted to cash as soon as is practical.

2. If no known buyer is available for the appraised or market value, then the property should be listed with a realtor who specializes in the type of property that is to be marketed.

3. The value of the gift, or the sales proceeds, will not be posted to a member’s contribution records but an acknowledgment letter describing the gifted property, and IRS Form 8283, will be sent to the donor.

4. Sales should be for cash, except in instances where there are extenuating circumstances, which must be reviewed by the Business Administrator on a case by case basis.

5. If the property sale, or other disposition, takes place within two years of the date of the original contribution, the Church shall file IRS Form 8282 within 125 days after it disposes of the donated property. [back to top]

E. Other Non-Cash Gifts

The Church will accept most types of non-cash gifts such as corporate stocks, land, furniture, clothes, books, art, etc. A letter from the Church will be sent to the donor, acknowledging the date of receipt and providing a brief description of the property or items donated. However, the acknowledgement letter will not provide an estimated fair market value of the property donated and neither will the donor’s record of contribution reflect receipt of the non-cash gift. It is the responsibility of the individual donor to maintain proper documentation of the property’s value for purposes of substantiating his/her deduction basis for individual income tax reporting purposes. Any non-cash gifts, not anticipated for use in the ministry purposes of the Church, shall be sold and converted to cash as soon as possible. [back to top]

F. Designated Gifts

All designated funds shall be contributed for the regular religious or benevolent ministries of the Church or for special needs deemed compatible with the Church’s overall purpose. If a contributor designates a use other than the General Fund or an already existing designated fund, the gift designation must be reviewed by the Board of Overseers. The Overseers shall determine if the designated use of the gift is consistent with the Church’s purpose and compatible with the overall Master Plan. If the designated gift is considered appropriate, acceptance of the gift may be approved and the new designated fund established.

It shall be the responsibility of the Board of Overseers to authorize the spending or transfer of any designated fund amount whose use was not very specifically designated by the donor, or very small residual amounts remaining after the purpose of the original gift has been accomplished. The residual funds will typically be transferred to the General Fund, but may be spent for other purposes related to the original gift, at the discretion of the Board.

No designated gifts or offerings intended as personal gifts to any staff members will be accepted for administering by the Church. The Church shall not be put in a position of substantiating the claims for a tax exemption for any individual, except for the routine records of unified budget gifts and authorized special offering receipts. [back to top]

G. Love Offerings

All Love offerings for visiting speakers, evangelists, musicians, or others performing a one-time service for the Church, must be approved, in advance, by the Senior Pastor before a commitment for a Love Offering is extended to any individual or organization.

To assure consistency, to ensure that a proper audit trail is established, and to be certain that contribution credit can be appropriately recorded, all love offerings taken by Ingleside Baptist Church, for any reason will be collected by the Church, properly accounted for by the Financial Services Office, and a check issued by Ingleside Baptist Church to the appropriate recipient.

Love offerings for staff members which are occasionally received, as directed by the Board of Overseers, should not be construed as part of the staff members’ regular compensation as determined by the Senior Pastor and approved by the Board of Overseers. [back to top]

H. Fund-Raising Solicitations

The Church conducts its financial operations on the basis of an annual unified budget system. No subsidiary organization of the Church will engage in any independent routine solicitation of offerings or other fund raising activities. It has long been our Church policy that we would concentrate all Church ministry expense needs through our unified budget, or fee-for-service endeavors (such as our Weekday Preschool and Mother’s Morning Out programs). Car washes, sales of candy, garage sales, etc., are fund-raising methods which are not considered appropriate for the support of basic church ministries.

A “New Ministries” account shall be budgeted each year to help provide financial assistance to “start-up” ministries that may develop over the course of the upcoming year. All requests for funds, from this budget area, to support Church ministries which have not already been approved through the annual budgeting process are to be submitted to the Senior Pastor for consideration. [back to top]

I. Solicitations for Benevolent Causes

The Church understands the needs of many in our community and appreciates the desire of the Church membership to give aid to those in need. However, Church policy prohibits public, Church-wide solicitations for such purposes. Individual Bible Study classes or other small groups are generally allowed to use that forum to make class members aware of needs that might be of particular interest to the group. However, it must be understood that this is only a sharing of information and shall not be construed as a solicitation. Any persons or groups in the Church wishing to give benevolent help to someone specifically should give cash or other items directly to that person and not through the Church.

With regard to contributions given to the Church, federal tax laws clearly state that donations to the Church specifically for the benefit of some named individual are not tax deductible. Gifts given to the Church must always be directed to the General Fund, or other approved designated funds, for the gift to be tax deductible to the giver.

The Church has an approved Benevolence Fund for the purpose of helping those in need. Gifts designated to that fund are used solely for that purpose. Members may make suggestions, as to people in need, to the Deacons’ Benevolence Ministry Team. However, the final decision as to who will be a recipient of Church benevolence funds is solely that of the members of the Deacons’ Benevolence Ministry Team. [back to top]

SECTION III - Disbursements

A. Purchasing / Expenditures / Reimbursements

The purchasing procedures of Ingleside Baptist Church shall be established to ensure proper review and control of all purchases made on behalf of the Church. The following policies shall serve as the basis for formulating the details of the purchasing procedures, which may be modified from time to time:

1. A Purchase Order shall be prepared for all expenditures that are to be charged to the Church. Vendors are to be provided with the Purchase Order number, and instructed that they should reference this number on their invoice. Minister’s Assistants may prepare Purchase Orders but the Ministerial staff member is accountable for review and signature.

2. A Check Requisition must be prepared in order to obtain reimbursements for business related purchases and other expenditures made with personal funds. Attach all supporting documentation (i.e. receipts, mileage logs, cafeteria plan vouchers, expense reports, etc.) to the Check Requisition form and submit to the Accounts Payable Office for payment. Minister’s Assistants may prepare Check Requisitions but the Ministerial staff member is accountable for review and signature.

3. All Purchase Orders/Check Requisitions require the approval (initials) of the Ministerial staff member responsible for the Ministry area from which the expenditure will be made, as well as appropriate Team Leader approval (initials).

4. When orders are received, the invoice will be compared with the purchase order for accuracy. The pink copy of the purchase order shall be marked as received, and returned to the Accounts Payable Office with invoice attached.

5. The Business Administrator and/or Financial Secretary will review the purchase documentation prior to issuance of the check, and reserve the right to question the request. In this case, the request may require further documentation or approval.

The Church’s purchasing policies apply to all the ministries of the Church and to all Church funds (General, Building, Capital Reserve, Food Service, Family Life Center, Weekday Preschool, Mother’s Morning Out, Special Missions, etc.).

Ingleside Baptist Church is not exempt from Georgia Sales Tax. Therefore, sales tax must be paid on all purchases of materials, equipment, or supplies. [back to top]

B. Church Credit Card Purchases

The Church shall maintain a bank-issued or other general corporate credit card (i.e. Visa, MasterCard, etc.) for the sole purpose of conducting Church related business. This allows the Church to purchase materials and services from companies where we do not have an established credit relationship. NO PERSONAL CHARGES OF ANY KIND WILL BE ALLOWED ON THE CHURCH’S CORPORATE CREDIT CARD. This credit card is to be used only in those situations where obtaining a check is not practical or a check cannot be obtained in a timely manner. The following is a list of examples when the card may typically be used:

1. To make hotel reservations for Church related trips and Church guests.

2. To purchase books, tapes, etc. for the ministerial staff.

3. Meals and travel expenses on staff recruitment trips. Pastor’s travel expenses on International Mission Board trips or other Church related travel expenses.

4. To confirm reservations on Church seminars, retreats, or camps.

5. Other purchases where the Church does not have an established credit arrangement and the purchase is required before a check can be obtained.

Any use of the Ingleside Baptist Church corporate credit card(s) must be authorized, in advance, by the appropriate Team Leader. The monthly credit card bill will be forwarded directly to the appropriate Team Leader to be reviewed for accuracy and initialed. Cash register receipts or other detailed supporting documents related to the purchase must be forwarded to the Accounts Payable Office to be maintained as part of the Church’s accounting documentation system (audit trail).

There is continuing to be a steady increase in the number of vendors that will only authorize business charge accounts in the form of a corporate credit card (Kroger, Home Depot, Office Depot, etc.). In addition to the general bank-issued credit card account, the Church may also maintain specific vendor credit card accounts. These cards shall be maintained in the Financial Services Office and “signed out” to individual ministry areas as the need arises.

Purchases made with any Church credit card must also conform to all the general purchasing requirements, as detailed in Paragraph A., above. Any lost or stolen credit card must be reported to the Financial Services Office immediately. [back to top]

C. Unbudgeted Disbursements of Funds

Under unusual circumstances, expenses may arise that are not budgeted, or do not fit into the established procedures for disbursing Church funds. These special occurrences shall be governed by the policies established in the Bylaws of Ingleside Baptist Church, Section VI - Finance, Paragraph A., regarding the approvals of non-budgeted expenditures and budget reallocations.

Unbudgeted expenditures for the purchase of fixed assets with a useful life of more than one year and greater than $2,000 shall be recorded in the Property and Equipment Fund as an addition to the Church’s fixed assets. Purchases of fixed assets with a useful life of less than one year, or in an amount less than $2,000 shall be expensed each year and shown as an unbudgeted disbursement in the Church’s financial statement. [back to top]

D. Cash Advances

Cash advances are allowed for ministry related convenience. A Check Requisition, approved by the appropriate Ministerial Staff and/or Team Leader, shall be completed and forwarded to the Accounts Payable Office for check preparation. All receipts and other supporting documentation for the actual costs incurred, as well as any unused cash must be returned to the Financial Services Office within one week of the conclusion of the event or circumstance for which the cash was obtained. The staff member shall also attach a report reconciling the amount received to the amount spent and/or returned. [back to top]

E. Business and Professional Expense Reimbursements

The Church will reimburse Ministerial /Professional staff for any ordinary and necessary business and professional expenses incurred on behalf of the Church. It is the intention of the Church that reimbursements of this nature be accounted for in conformity with IRS regulations concerning a “Full Accountable Reimbursement Plan”. As such, the church shall establish and maintain procedures that will ensure that the conditions of “Full Accountable Reimbursement Plans” will be met. The general provisions of such a policy are as follows:

1. The expenditures must be reasonable, properly substantiated, and documented on a monthly basis by an accurate accounting of each expense.

2. Reimbursable business and professional expenses may include local transportation, overnight travel (including lodging and meals), entertainment, books and subscriptions, education, vestments, professional dues, and other appropriate expenses.

3. Reimbursements must be paid by Church, not by reducing pay checks.

4. Reimbursements shall not be included in the staff member’s W-2.

5. Church shall retain all receipts and documentary evidence used to support the business reimbursement. [back to top]

F. Honorariums

Any honorariums or fees to be paid, from a ministry budget area, to a speaker, musician, etc. must be approved, in advance, by the appropriate Team Leader. The Team Leader may either approve or alter the suggested fee to be paid, so as to ensure equity, and to remove any question of bias on the part of the sponsoring staff member or Ministry Team. [back to top]

G. Capital Reserve and Building Fund Expenditures

The policies related to all non-budgeted expenditures, including Building Fund projects and Capital Reserve Fund projects, are governed by the provisions set forth in the Bylaws of Ingleside Baptist Church, Section VI - Finance.

The Capital Reserve Fund is maintained through monthly allocations from the unified budget, and shall be used to cover the cost of infrequent expenditures required to maintain Church buildings and equipment, and to cover the original purchase or replacement of major equipment and related costs.

The Senior Pastor and senior staff shall make annual recommendations to the Board of Overseers, in the form of a Schedule of Proposed Capital Reserve Projects, related to possible projects for the fiscal year.

Expenditures of an emergency nature which clearly have to be made by the Church to secure the property or to prevent discomfort or hazard to its personnel and members may be authorized by the Chairman of the Board of Overseers, or his authorized representative, up to 1% of the budget per occurrence. The Board of Overseers, and the Church shall be notified of such expenditures. [back to top]

H. Accounts Payable Check Processing

Accounts Payable checks shall be processed, printed, and distributed each week on a regular and consistent basis. The Business Administrator shall determine the timing requirements for submittal of check requisitions and the corresponding schedule of check distributions. See Financial Policy Section V. Paragraph A. - “Check Writing, Signing, and Distribution” for further information related to the Church’s check processing systems. [back to top]

I. Petty Cash

The Church shall maintain an in-house petty cash fund to be administered by the Financial Services Office. The petty cash fund shall be of an amount necessary to provide cash for periodic staff purchases of small items that need to be obtained from companies where we do not have an established credit relationship. A receipt or paid invoice for the actual costs incurred, as well as any unused cash must be returned to the Financial Services Office immediately. The receipts will be kept and used as supporting documentation to charge the appropriate budget account, and replenish the petty cash fund. [back to top]

J. Year End Disbursements

Services rendered and goods received on or before the last day of the fiscal year (September 30), will be expensed in that year.

Items which are purchased for resale to Church members or other parties in the following fiscal year will be recorded as prepaid expenses and will be expensed in the appropriate accounts in the following fiscal year. [back to top]

SECTION IV - Financial Administration

A. Financial Services Staff Team

The Church Financial Services department is staffed by the Financial Secretary and an Accounts Payable Clerk, both supervised by the Business Administrator. Additional personnel may be added as proposed by the Pastor, funding for which would be approved by Overseers / Church as a part of the annual Budget approval process. The Financial Services department shall be responsible for all matters relating to the day-to-day financial operations of the Church, under the overriding responsibility of the Senior Pastor. [back to top]

B. Budgeting

The proper administration of Church funds requires a complete and thorough budget control system. This control system shall ensure that funds are distributed according to priorities, expenditures are undertaken in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Church each year, as part of the budget process, and that annual expenditures are limited to the income actually received by the Church.

The Church fiscal year shall be October 1 through September 30. Each year, on forms provided by the Business Administrator, ministerial staff will prepare budget requests for each individual area of ministry for which they are responsible. Ministry budget requests shall be prepared by the staff based on their planned ministries for the upcoming year, as established in staff planning sessions. Each ministry line item requires a full explanation with supporting detail for the planned expenditure. All budget request forms shall be completed and returned to the Business Administrator by no later than May 15.

Using the individual ministry budget requests as a resource, the Senior Pastor and senior staff shall prepare an annual budget for presentation to the Overseers, at their Board meeting in June. The Overseers shall vote on the proposed budget at their Board meeting in July. If approved, the budget proposal will be voted on by the Church at the August Semi-Annual Business Conference. [back to top]

C. Contractual Agreements

Church staff will be allowed to enter into certain contractual obligations, on behalf of the Church, under some very limited conditions. Guidelines related to Church related contractual arrangements are as follows;

1. A short-term obligation is a one-time or short lived contractual agreement to purchase goods or services. Agreements of this type may be signed by the Ministerial/Professional Staff person that is responsible for the budget area from which the expenditure will be made, or the Ministry area that is responsible for fulfilling the commitment. However, funding for this obligation must be included in the current fiscal year budget . Church staff shall not sign any agreement that would obligate the church beyond the amount of budgeted funds available for the purchase.

Examples of this type of contractual agreement are:

· Purchase orders

· Hotel agreements for retreats

· Artists’ agreements for performances

· Bus rental contracts

2. An ongoing long-term obligation can be defined as a contract that obligates the Church to make continuing periodic payments toward the purchase or rental of equipment or services. Agreements of this type may be signed by the Business Administrator, who is responsible for the budget area from which these expenditures are made. However, funding for one year’s pro-rata portion of the overall obligation must be included in the current fiscal year budget . Church staff shall not sign any agreement that would obligate the church beyond the amount of budgeted funds that are available or established for the purchase or lease.

Examples of this type of contractual agreement are:

· Office equipment lease agreements

· Equipment maintenance or service contracts

· Installment purchases of equipment

3. Contracts that involve the purchase of real property, the sale or encumbrance of any Church real property, the borrowing of funds, or the construction of new buildings are obligations that are expressly reserved for Church action. Church staff are not authorized to enter into such obligations on behalf of the Church. [back to top]

D. Church Investments

The Business Administrator shall supervise the investment of all funds of the Church. The specific investment plan may vary from time to time depending on current or future building plans, liquidity requirements, and general financial performance as compared to budget projections. However, investment of Church funds shall always be undertaken in a prudent manner, while endeavoring to achieve maximum “safe” returns. Generally, investments that would be considered appropriate for the Church would include the following:

1. Money Market Funds

2. Certificates of Deposit

3. U.S. Government Repurchase Agreements

4. T-Bills

A report on the investment vehicles shall be presented to the Board of Overseers on a quarterly basis. [back to top]

E. Ownership of Church Property

All items of personal property (equipment, supplies, etc.), and all real property are owned by Ingleside Baptist Church as a body, as compared to ownership by an individual class, department, or organization within the Church. Donations of material objects will be received by the Church with the understanding that donors relinquish all restrictions on such items. In this way, an item is available equally to all according to need. [back to top]

F. Sale or Disposal of Church Property

The procedure for disposition of assets in the event of Church dissolution will be governed by the policy set forth in Section VIII, Paragraph B. of the Bylaws of Ingleside Baptist Church. Any other dispositions of Church property shall be conducted as follows:

1. Sales of contributed property (furnishings, equipment, corporate stocks, investment property, art, jewelry, etc.), not anticipated for use in the ministry purposes of the Church, shall be sold and converted to cash as soon after receipt as is practical. The Business Administrator and/or Financial Secretary shall be authorized to execute these transactions. All proceeds from the sale of Church property will be credited to the Church’s General Fund unless approved, by the Senior Pastor, to be credited to another fund.

2. All sales or dispositions of Church personal property (furnishings, equipment, vehicles, etc.) must be approved and executed by the Business Administrator. Proceeds from the sale of obsolete or outdated equipment shall generally be credited to the budget area from which replacements must be purchased (i.e. proceeds from the sale of obsolete computers would be credited to the “computer expense” account to help fund the replacement of the outdated equipment). The Senior Pastor may designate another account or fund to be credited, if desirable.

3. ALL sales of the Church’s real property and facilities must be approved by the Church and executed by the Secretary of the Board of Overseers, in his capacity as Secretary of the corporation. [back to top]

G. Fee Based Programs

Various programs and organizations of the Church receive fees for services provided. These fees represent the primary support mechanism for these programs although personnel supplements, utilities, and facilities are provided from the Church’s General Fund. Examples of this type of program include the Weekday Preschool, Food Service, and Mother’s Morning Out programs. These programs are considered to be ministries of the Church and do not “stand alone” in their own right. All of the financial policies enumerated in this document shall also apply to all fee based programs, except as noted below:

Annual budgets, relating to the fiscal year of the individual program, shall be prepared annually and presented to the Board of Overseers for approval. Every effort shall be made to ensure that expenses are held at or below fees received, and guided by prepared budgets.

Ministers and Assistants administering the programs may collect fees for the program. Appropriate records shall be maintained by the staff member and receipts should immediately be given to the Church Financial Services Office for safekeeping. In no case should checks or cash be retained for any extended period of time. If needed, copies should be made of checks for office use, and checks taken at least daily, to the Financial Services Office.

Monthly Church financial statements shall include sections for each “fee-based” program, reporting the annual and monthly budgets, current month and year-to-date receipts and expenditures. These monthly reports shall be provided to the staff member supervising the program. [back to top]

SECTION V - Financial Reporting and Controls

A. Check Printing, Signing, and Distribution

In order to ensure maximum security and control over expended funds, the individual steps of the check writing process shall be performed by a minimum of three separate individuals. Two staff members will sign every check, and a third staff member will be responsible for check printing before checks are signed, and for check distribution after checks are signed.

The Business Administrator’s Assistant (or in the event of absence, another individual who does not sign checks) will have sole responsibility for printing all checks and delivering them to the authorized check signers.

All checks require two signatures, the primary signature of the Business Administrator and the countersignature of the Financial Secretary. In the absence of either of the above, the Associate Pastor/Membership or the Associate Pastor/Life Development are authorized to countersign checks. It is anticipated that every check will contain the signature of either the Business Administrator or the Financial Secretary.

Upon completion of the check signing process, all checks will be returned to the Business Administrator’s Assistant, who will then distribute or mail each check. The Business Administrator and the Financial Secretary shall not distribute or mail checks.

Church payrolls may be processed by the Financial Secretary; however, the actual checks must be printed and then distributed by the Business Administrator’s Assistant.

It shall be the policy of Ingleside Baptist Church that in no case shall a check be signed and co-signed in blank.

All Church checking account reconciliation’s will be performed, on a routine monthly basis, by the Business Administrator’s Assistant. If any irregularities are encountered, the Assistant shall bring them to the attention of the Business Administrator, or Senior Pastor if necessary. [back to top]

B. Financial Reporting

The Financial Services Department shall establish and maintain a system of financial records which supply detailed, accurate, and timely information regarding receipts, disbursements, balances, and overall financial condition of the Church. The Bylaws of Ingleside Baptist Church, Section VI - Finance details the requirements related to the periodic reporting of financial information to the Board of Overseers and to the Church. [back to top]

C. Annual Independent Audit

The Board of Overseers, or duly authorized committee thereof, shall retain an Independent Certified Public Accountant to examine and report on the financial condition of the Church at the close of each fiscal year. The results of this audit shall be presented to the Overseers at their January Board meeting, and to the Church as part of the February Semi-Annual Business Conference report. The audit report will also be made available, in the Church office, for review by all members upon request. [back to top]

D. Record Retention

Specific procedures and guidelines shall be implemented to ensure that all important Church records are maintained in a logical and orderly manner. Great care shall also be taken to ensure the proper safeguarding of all records needed to supply information to members and staff, meet regulatory requirements, and provide otherwise useful information for management of the Church and its facilities. These procedures shall provide guidance as to documents to be maintained, as well as the time periods of retention that is required for each type of record. Additional guidelines related to record retention issues are discussed in the Bylaws of Ingleside Baptist Church, Section VII - Records and Reports. [back to top]

SECTION VI - Adoption and Amendment of Financial Policy

A. Adoption

This Financial Policy shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the members of the Board of Overseers. [back to top]

B. Amendment

This Financial Policy may be amended by a simple majority vote of the members of the Board of Overseers. [back to top]

C. Records

A copy of this Financial Policy, as revised, shall at all times be kept with the records of the Church and all amendments to or alterations thereof shall, after passage, be prepared in a type-written form and attached to the copy of the Financial Policy so kept. [back to top]