Comments on: Audit Committee

By: alea

alea — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:26:14 +0000

the greater outflow idea comes from both Thomas Alexander and D. Michael Quinn, and from conversations with people who work at the church (though not in finance or auditing)

By: Pewsitter

Pewsitter — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:11:25 +0000

Have you ever wondered why the church changed the fine print on your donation slip a few years ago? You agreed that they could do whatever they like with the money you donated. It really is none of your/our business what happens with the donations since you agreed to this with your donation. What they say in conference is more of a tradition than anything else.

By: ltbugaf

ltbugaf — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:31:06 +0000

The reason Iâ€ve heard for no disclosure is that the Church started spending more money than it was bringing in tithing, which made several parties nervous.

What was the source of the information?

By: alea

alea — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:54:01 +0000

So, the Church does use an external auditor for things like CES, Deseret Management, Zion Securities, etc. That is, if you're willing to trust wikipedia (which I am).

See here

The reason I've heard for no disclosure is that the Church started spending more money than it was bringing in tithing, which made several parties nervous. Never mind the fact that the Church has other revenue sources to fill those gaps.

By: rick

rick — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:01:36 +0000

If everything is so well cared for and terrific, then why no disclosure?

By: Roland

Roland — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 23:38:23 +0000

To learn more about church auditing, ask your Bishop or Stake President for an opportunity to serve as an auditor. They do prefer CPA's or other with Audit/Accounting Experience.

Myself and several of my close relatives have all done this. The church finances are extremely well cared for.

By: endlessnegotiation

endlessnegotiation — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:16:37 +0000

Don't the scriptures say something like "out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Public institutions like the Church should be duty-bound to pay for outside auditing at least every three years. Not doing so is truly irresponsible. An audit is not strictly about making sure someone is not unduly taking from the till. It's also there to ensure that assets are properly valued, that vendors are properly paid, etc. The primary focus of an audit is to ensure management has established sufficient institutional controls to stay out of trouble with governments, to run its business efficiently, and to prevent fraud. I work in corporate finance so I have a little authority on the subject.

My company has a charity matching policy but the charity in question must submit to some very minor attestation (something less than a full audit). I could double the first US$10K of my contributions to the Church if they'd submit to as little as a review. That's a huge opportunity missed.

By: Jeff Milner

Jeff Milner — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:54:40 +0000

I, also, have room.

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:48:00 +0000

I have room, John.

By: John Scherer

John Scherer — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:34:14 +0000

I could Rick, but I woudn't have anywhere to put all the cool stuff that I'd buy. ;)