UK - Ward Account Balances

I have been called as a Clerk again after a gap of a few years since the last time.

The last time I was Clerk, in the UK the Transfers part of the application was not yet trusted to handle the ward account. Statements about the current funds in each category were send out periodically on paper and transfers / reconciling the other column was also done on paper.

It seems like it should be a relatively simple thing but I am struggling to find where I need to look just to see how much money is in the different categories and how much LUBA payment our ward is receiving (for the sake of budgeting). Can any of the UK clerks tell me how I do that. I tried poking around in MLS to see if I could figure it out myself but didn't seem to find what I was looking for.

Could anyone at least point me in the direction of more resources that I could read on the topic?

Of the top of my head, check the Finance section in MLS. You'll find the monthly statements there. Plus by checking around that section you can find various categories and sub categories, not always obvious, pertaining to how the various Presidencies have been spending their budget. Assuming of course that the expenses have been correctly allocated!

I'm going the chapel tonight, so if I have time, will dig up more info!

In your original post you specifically asked for help from UK clerks. I don't know what the differences are in this regard between the UK and US, but here are some places to look:

• In MLS, run the Budget Report (use the Summary version). That should include a section that shows the quarterly budget allocations. It will also show how the budget amounts you have set in the View/Edit Budget screen for each subcategory compare with the actual and estimated budget allocations, as well as with the YTD expenses.
• In MLS, under Finance Statements, there is a quarterly statement that arrives to show the budget allocation amount for that quarter, with a detailed breakdown of the source of that allocation (sacrament meeting attendance, youth, Primary 8-11, YSA).

•In MLS, under Finance Statements, there is a quarterly statement that arrives to show the budget allocation amount for that quarter, with a detailed breakdown of the source of that allocation (sacrament meeting attendance, youth, Primary 8-11, YSA).

We don't get quarterly finance statements with the information you describe, we get a monthly statement showing income, expenses and transfers to our ward during that month. The budget allocation for Stakes and wards are handled by the area office, the units aren't involved in this process.

The Income and expense report (summary) will show you what is in each category. You can also see what has been transferred into your unit so far this year on this screen. You could also look at the transfers to see what LUBA you have been given if that is easier.

simonawright wrote:We don't get quarterly finance statements with the information you describe, we get a monthly statement showing income, expenses and transfers to our ward during that month.

I'm pretty sure every area gets the monthly financial statement you described. That isn't what I was talking about. I was talking about a Budget Allocation Report document that appears in the Finance Statements area of MLS (the same place the monthly financial statements appear). But perhaps you don't get that report in the UK.

simonawright wrote:The budget allocation for Stakes and wards are handled by the area office, the units aren't involved in this process.

Although the process might be handled at the area office, there still have to be transactions that appear in MLS that are the quarterly (I assume allocations are done quarterly everywhere) credits to the Budget Allocation category.

Also (at least in the US), under View/Edit Budget there is a place to record your estimates for future quarterly allocations. That enables you to have a total annual budget that corresponds to the annual organization budgets.

simonawright wrote:The Income and expense report (summary) will show you what is in each category. You can also see what has been transferred into your unit so far this year on this screen. You could also look at the transfers to see what LUBA you have been given if that is easier.

Are you saying that you don't have the report titled "Budget Report" that I referred to earlier? That's the obvious report for this purpose, if you have it. It has much better information on allocations than the Income and Expense Report.

We don't get the budget allocation report, just the monthly reports.

We get a quarterly transfer to the LUBA in Budget, it is not allocated to different categories in budget which is what I think happens for you in the US .

Our Local office has recommended using an excel spreadsheet to track the budget rather than the budget report on MLS, I think this is because tracking expenses doesn't work too well with the UK system. I am not too sure of the details.

It sounds like it is still not quite all running smoothly but thanks for the information. I will figure it out from there.