Crediting member for "lost" cash donation

A member in our stake claims to have made a cash donation (has the yellow slip), but there is no record of it at the unit. We have gone through the defalcation procedures (interviews, etc.) and now need to credit the member for the "lost" donation. Any ideas on how to do that? I assume that local unit support will need to get involved.

mlh78 wrote:A member in our stake claims to have made a cash donation (has the yellow slip), but there is no record of it at the unit. We have gone through the defalcation procedures (interviews, etc.) and now need to credit the member for the "lost" donation. Any ideas on how to do that? I assume that local unit support will need to get involved.

If the unit has no record of it, then the unit doesn't have the money. Maybe I'm not understanding the situation, but it sounds like you want to create a donation out of thin air, as far as the actual accounting is concerned. I can't imagine how that could be done.

It is true that the unit doesn't have the money, but the instructions from church headquarters accompanying the defalcation report say that the member should still be credited with having made the donation. It seems to me that the only way to do so would be to create a donation "out of thin air," but I assume that can only be done from church headquarters' end.

mlh78 wrote:It is true that the unit doesn't have the money, but the instructions from church headquarters accompanying the defalcation report say that the member should still be credited with having made the donation.

I've never heard of a "defalcation report" -- where did you come across such a thing? It seems that much of what you are saying is related to the instructions on that report, but since I don't know about it, I'm probably not being very helpful.

mlh78 wrote:the instructions from church headquarters accompanying the defalcation report say that the member should still be credited with having made the donation.

I think you're going to have to ask them what they mean and how it's done.

If I recall correctly, the defalcation process is an auditing function that deals with lost or missing funds. Once you have completed the process it may be required to make up the missing donation from the ward budget funds. I would double check with LUS first though.

mlh78 wrote:A member in our stake claims to have made a cash donation (has the yellow slip), but there is no record of it at the unit. We have gone through the defalcation procedures (interviews, etc.) and now need to credit the member for the "lost" donation. Any ideas on how to do that? I assume that local unit support will need to get involved.

Have your audit committee chairman call and ask if the Finance Department will add the donation to MLS or if they would like the local unit to add the donation to MLS. Eventually, the donation needs to go into MLS. It is just a matter of who puts it there. They will probably ask the local unit to do it, but check to make sure the procedure has not changed with CUBS.

If the unit is to do it, create a batch for the date and amount on the yellow slip just as you normally would. Close the batch, transmit it, and do not make a deposit. You will be flagged on your Other account for not making the deposit, and the Finance Department will cleared it by using the defalcation report that has just been completed by the audit chairman and signed by the stake president.

Make sure you have a copy of the yellow slip and the report for your file when the auditors come visiting in August.

Freedom55 wrote:If I recall correctly, the defalcation process is an auditing function that deals with lost or missing funds. Once you have completed the process it may be required to make up the missing donation from the ward budget funds. I would double check with LUS first though.

Yes, that is a good definition. And it sounds as if mlh78 and the folks in his stake have handled everything correctly.

The ward will not have to use budget funds to cover the missing donation.

lajackson wrote:If the unit is to do it, create a batch for the date and amount on the yellow slip just as you normally would. Close the batch, transmit it, and do not make a deposit. You will be flagged on your Other account for not making the deposit, and the Finance Department will cleared it by using the defalcation report that has just been completed by the audit chairman and signed by the stake president.

I spoke with support this morning and they gave consistent instructions.