Expense Form for Fast Offerings

I am a new bishop and would like some clarification when documenting fast offering expenditures. Each ward should have their own form they make up for expenses for reimbursements and we do. But do I need one of those forms to have my clerk write a check for fast offering expenses? i am the one who tells him what to write and for how much anyway so I am not sure why i would need an expense form to show I give authorization. Any help would be great!

kkolling wrote:i am the one who tells him what to write and for how much anyway so I am not sure why i would need an expense form to show I give authorization.

There has to be a paper trail that shows you authorized it, or you'll have a audit exception. He'll also need to know that it's for fast offering and for whom so the expense can be recorded correctly.

I suppose he can fill it out and have you sign it, but the paper trail needs to be there.

as far as apaper trail- there is a check stub, a transmission report that i look over and sign for every check and or expense. why is this not sufficient? the check and check stubb states what the expense is coming from like fast offerings and or subcategory within fast offerings.

The form also has attached the "proof" of the expense.
Normally this is a receipt, but is often an invoice or past
bill in the case of fast offerings. I think Fast Offering disbursements
should have more scrutiny than other expenses. Too much potential
for error or abuse in my opinion. Don't really see how filling out a
form is so much work, anyhow, but I'm no Bishop.

i don't really appreciate the last sentence on that previous post. there is always a reciept or invoice to go along with the expenditures. if i sign the transmission report and most likely the check for fast offerings why is a small piece of paper with my 3rd signature so important when there really has been all of the above mentioned (in previous posts) taken care of? is it just to show that i know about it a second time when i , the bishop, authorize all fast offering expenditures to begin with?

You do not need a form. It is usually convenient and helpful, but not required. If you are able to communicate to your clerk the required information for the check (payee, amount, FO category, member assisted name) without the form, that is perfectly fine. You can attached the receipt to the check report you will sign and the top part of the check stub you will keep. You then have everything you need for an audit.

thank you lajackson. is this written somewhere? if it is, i would think it is on the clerk resource training site. i haven't found it yet and that was a reason for asking to begin with.

kkolling wrote:thank you lajackson. is this written somewhere? if it is, i would think it is on the clerk resource training site. i haven't found it yet and that was a reason for asking to begin with.

In the Finance section of the Record Keeping and Technology Support site, you'll find:

• Documenting Expenses and Reimbursements, which says "Each ward should create a form..." and then explains what the form is for.
• File and Retain Expense Records, which explains which documents you need to retain.

I certainly understand your concern about superfluous signatures, and you mentioned 3 signatures. I don't see why that would ever be necessary. Of course you may well be one of the people who signs the check, but that signature is not retained in the paper trail, so it has no effect on the audit records. The only other signature that is needed is the one on the authorization form. There's no need to sign the transmission form, which you mentioned above. The audit certainly doesn't require it.

Now there could be other techniques that don't involve an authorization form, but the documentation I linked to above does say you should create one. And I find such a form to be a great aid in filing. It's a consistent size, and has the check number noted in a consistent place. It makes it very easy to file all your documentation in check number order.

I have been a bishopric member but mostly a ward clerk or finance clerk for some 8 bishops now.
As the clerk, the form provides all of the info needed to cut the check, make any special notes, shows the Bishop authorized the check and amount. Form a security standpoint, I require it. We had a case in our stake where a member of a bishopric was stealing funds. It took almost a year to catch it. Just extra safety, if at the cost of a few seconds for the extra signatures. Just a thought.
(It also saves time during the audit.)

One other thing the form is useful for is splitting out Sales tax information.

I will also make notes on the form occasionally. Like "first house payment of four agreed to." Or in one case, "Bought diapers in a size not available at the store house."

But i am right there with you. The pile of checks/forms etc. I sign some weeks makes me feel a little like a rubber stamp.

My clerks like the form for consistency. So, in this case, I do what makes them happy.

Whatever you do, I would run it by your stake auditors to make sure they are on the same page you are. It is easier to fix now than at the audit.