The pastor is the chief administrator and legal representative of the parish’s goods. Canon 532 charges the pastor to be responsible for stewarding the goods and resources of the parish wisely and serves as the chief administrator and legal representative of the parish’s goods.

There is a significant responsibility associated with being stewards of the temporary resources of the Church: responsibility to safeguard the Church’s assets; to exercise prudence in financial matters; and to comply with all civil regulations. The following concepts serve as the foundation for the parish’s financial policies and procedures:

• accountability to parishioners
• the use of generally accepted accounting practices
• the adoption of a systematic approach to internal controls, and
• adherence to governmental regulations and Church policy

The parish complies with the Diocese of Dallas-Financial Review Process-Accounting Standards. It is important to distinguish the Financial Review Process from true independent audits – the purpose of which is the expression of an opinion on the entity’s financial statements. These are “agreed-upon procedures” engagements which focus on the adequacy of internal controls and adherence to policies and procedures. They are largely compliance oriented and examine the control environment which generates the applicable financial statements.

Parish revenue is derived almost exclusively from the Offertory Collection, Special Gifts and Fundraising efforts of the parish. Internal controls, which are vital to the effective and efficient operations of the parish, rely to a large extent on the adequate separation of accounting duties among staff personnel as all of us in are responsible stewards of the parish’s assets.

The role of the Finance Officer is the recording of the detail deposit information in the parish records. The source documents are the receipted deposit slips and the detailed tally sheet. The Finance Officer does not have control over the preparation of the tally sheet, the applicable deposit slip(s) or make the physical deposit at the bank. In consultation with the Pastor and the Finance Council, the Finance Officer is responsible for the preparation of the annual budget as well as:

• Preparing and Summarizing the payroll;
• Responsible for accounts payable;
• Reconciles parish bank accounts
• Prepare quarterly and annual Parish Financial Reports for review by the pastor and the parish finance council;
• Prepare quarterly Diocesan Financial Reports for review by the Diocesan Finance Office

Finance Officer: Jennifer Hicks, 972-771-6671 x105; Send Email