Finance Office
This is a busy time of year for the Finance Office. It’s not just that,
with the rest of the Diocese, we like to celebrate Easter. Nor is it
that April marks the start of another tax year. It’s not even the fact
that pressure is gathering to complete the annual accounts.
Each year at about this time the department holds a number of “Roadshows” – meetings where the staff, led by Margaret Marshall, travel to all points of the compass to spend time with parish treasurers and gift-aid secretaries.
It was at one of these recent meetings that Margaret gave a clear reminder that the department’s role is to be a service to the diocese – the Bishop and people of our parishes which together make up the Church in Clifton.
Of course this can require something of a balancing act – and not just in the accounting sense! The need to ensure that funds are available to meet the disparate needs of schools building projects, schemes relating to disability legislation, and the training fees of seminarians – as well as the day to day expenses of parishes – means that some controls on spending have to be in place. With well over 200 bank accounts around the diocese processing more than 100,000 transactions each year, and a number of investment funds to keep an eye on, managing monies can be a complex task.
The variety of work in the department is wide-ranging – managing the flow of monies, looking after a number of Trust Funds, arranging insurance on all our properties (and people!), dealing with legacies and, of couse, paying the bills!
Of direct relevance to many in the parishes is the payroll, run by Frances Parr, which looks after the pay of about 130 people – most of whom are part-time – with more than 100 employed around the parishes rather than in the central organisation. Fran also works closely with cashier Janet Stephens in operating the computerised ledger systems, while Sue Weston keeps an eye on schools projects and provides secretarial and administrative support to Margaret and to Kevin Moloney, the assistant accountant.
Sat quietly in another corner is Paul Beever – the focal point for processing the Gift-Aid claims which bring in more than half a million pounds each year. Thousands of parishioners have joined the scheme over the years, thanks largely to the efforts of the local Gift-Aid secretaries. All the donations and claims are routed through Paul who, over the years, has helped to build a system which is the envy of many other dioceses – but may be less popular with Chancellor Gordon Brown who has to add 28% to our Gift-Aided donations!
Support for parishes is also the primary concern of Mike Peck, one of the longest serving members of the department. Now taking the part-time route towards full retirement, Mike spends most of his time “on the road” – visiting parishes for audit purposes and to offer practical financial advice and guidance to parish priests and treasurers alike.
One of the department’s more painful duties is to calculate and collect “The Levy” – the means by which parishioners contribute to the cost of running the various functions which support the work of the Church in Clifton: evangelisation, the schools, clergy training, child protection, etc. The average parish is asked to contribute between 20% and 25% of its unrestricted income; donations and fund-raising for specific purposes are usually excluded from the calculation. Not surprisingly, the annual levy round is greeted with about as much joy as our own Tax Returns. As with our tax returns, we know we ought to pay something – but we would be much happier if we could choose the amount and what it should be spent on!
In civil law the Diocese of Clifton is established as a charitable trust within which parish priests act as the agents of the Trustees who are responsible for the administration of all that is contained within the diocesan trust, including the assets of every parish. Under the requirements of the Charities Acts the responsibilities of the Trustees and their agents are considerable and detailed and, as Financial Administrator, Margaret Marshall bears much of the day-to-day burden for ensuring that the Trustees can demonstrate that they exercise proper control over the Diocese’s considerable assets. Perhaps her most important but most difficult task is to ensure that these needs are met in a way which recognises and enables the primary pastoral purpose for which we exist, and minimises the impact on those dedicated to carrying it out.
The Finance Office Team
You can contcat the Finance Office by writing to:
Alexander House, 160 Pennywell Road, Bristol, BS5 0TX
Tel: 0117 902 5591
Fax: 0117 902 5520
Email: finance.office@cliftondiocese.com
Useful URL : http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/chapter_3.htm
Each year at about this time the department holds a number of “Roadshows” – meetings where the staff, led by Margaret Marshall, travel to all points of the compass to spend time with parish treasurers and gift-aid secretaries.
It was at one of these recent meetings that Margaret gave a clear reminder that the department’s role is to be a service to the diocese – the Bishop and people of our parishes which together make up the Church in Clifton.
Of course this can require something of a balancing act – and not just in the accounting sense! The need to ensure that funds are available to meet the disparate needs of schools building projects, schemes relating to disability legislation, and the training fees of seminarians – as well as the day to day expenses of parishes – means that some controls on spending have to be in place. With well over 200 bank accounts around the diocese processing more than 100,000 transactions each year, and a number of investment funds to keep an eye on, managing monies can be a complex task.
The variety of work in the department is wide-ranging – managing the flow of monies, looking after a number of Trust Funds, arranging insurance on all our properties (and people!), dealing with legacies and, of couse, paying the bills!
Of direct relevance to many in the parishes is the payroll, run by Frances Parr, which looks after the pay of about 130 people – most of whom are part-time – with more than 100 employed around the parishes rather than in the central organisation. Fran also works closely with cashier Janet Stephens in operating the computerised ledger systems, while Sue Weston keeps an eye on schools projects and provides secretarial and administrative support to Margaret and to Kevin Moloney, the assistant accountant.
Sat quietly in another corner is Paul Beever – the focal point for processing the Gift-Aid claims which bring in more than half a million pounds each year. Thousands of parishioners have joined the scheme over the years, thanks largely to the efforts of the local Gift-Aid secretaries. All the donations and claims are routed through Paul who, over the years, has helped to build a system which is the envy of many other dioceses – but may be less popular with Chancellor Gordon Brown who has to add 28% to our Gift-Aided donations!
Support for parishes is also the primary concern of Mike Peck, one of the longest serving members of the department. Now taking the part-time route towards full retirement, Mike spends most of his time “on the road” – visiting parishes for audit purposes and to offer practical financial advice and guidance to parish priests and treasurers alike.
One of the department’s more painful duties is to calculate and collect “The Levy” – the means by which parishioners contribute to the cost of running the various functions which support the work of the Church in Clifton: evangelisation, the schools, clergy training, child protection, etc. The average parish is asked to contribute between 20% and 25% of its unrestricted income; donations and fund-raising for specific purposes are usually excluded from the calculation. Not surprisingly, the annual levy round is greeted with about as much joy as our own Tax Returns. As with our tax returns, we know we ought to pay something – but we would be much happier if we could choose the amount and what it should be spent on!
In civil law the Diocese of Clifton is established as a charitable trust within which parish priests act as the agents of the Trustees who are responsible for the administration of all that is contained within the diocesan trust, including the assets of every parish. Under the requirements of the Charities Acts the responsibilities of the Trustees and their agents are considerable and detailed and, as Financial Administrator, Margaret Marshall bears much of the day-to-day burden for ensuring that the Trustees can demonstrate that they exercise proper control over the Diocese’s considerable assets. Perhaps her most important but most difficult task is to ensure that these needs are met in a way which recognises and enables the primary pastoral purpose for which we exist, and minimises the impact on those dedicated to carrying it out.
The Finance Office Team
You can contcat the Finance Office by writing to:
Alexander House, 160 Pennywell Road, Bristol, BS5 0TX
Tel: 0117 902 5591
Fax: 0117 902 5520
Email: finance.office@cliftondiocese.com
Useful URL : http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/chapter_3.htm
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