To accomplish your church’s mission and vision for ministry you need to effectively manage your church’s finances. As we all know, the management of church money is a complex task for any church finance manager, treasurer, business administrator, bookkeeper or pastor. This book will help you strategize, organize, measure, communicate, protect and audit the financials of your ministry.

This guide focuses on five key issues:

• Planning and Budgeting – How to use strategic planning and an operating budget to reach ministry goals.
• Minimizing the Risk of Embezzlement – 50 internal control practices for every church and how to implement them to protect valuable ministry resources.
• Church Financial Reports – How to effectively communicate mission-critical financial information to church leaders.
• Performance Measurements – How good are you at what you do? Explore various measurements and ratios to help you assess the health of your church and identify the areas that need strengthening.
• Church Audits – How to avoid, as well as prepare for, external audits conducted by agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the Department of Labor, and ways to get the most out of internal church audits.

Each section is supplemented with additional material to help expand your understanding of each topic and provide practical application to the principles that are presented. Whether or not you have professional training in finances, The Essential Guide to Church Finances is the resource you need to help accomplish your church’s mission and vision.