Parish finance and accounting
The Association of Church Accountants and Treasurers Handbook
A copy of this Handbook was distributed to each Parish Treasurer in early 2010. The Parish Treasurer will receive updates to the Handbook. The cost of this facility is met by the Representative Body. If you are a church treasurer and would like a copy of the Handbook and updates they are available (email admin@acat.uk.com) for about £12 pa. The Handbook provides guidance for Treasurers and others concerned with the financial affairs of the Parish. Not all of the Property Development and Insurance sections of the Handbook apply to the Church in Wales so reference should be made to the Parochial Handbook or contact made with staff at the Representative Body.
The Handbook can be used as guidance on completing the Annual Report and Accounts of the Parish but the Receipts and Payments/Statement of Activities should follow the Standard Form of Accounts for Parishes (see 2 below), and the Annual Report should include some extra information as set out in 3 below.
Standard Form of Accounts for Parishes
Following a consultation exercise with the parishes and approval of the Dioceses and the Representative Body, a Standard Form of Accounts for Parishes was introduced from the 1st January 2010.
The attached selection of spreadsheets should cover the accounts of parishes with different levels of income, and is intended as a guide.
The more complex spreadsheets have additional columns which may or may not be used, and in some cases parishes may not wish to use them for the purpose for which they are indicated but for some other parish purpose. Each set of spreadsheets has advice on completion of the forms, a layout of the standard form and the layout for the annual financial return.
A simple set of spreadsheets has been sent to each Parish Treasurer. With these spreadsheets a letter was enclosed, which can be downloaded here. A sample of the new finance return was also enclosed, but this sample should not be completed at this time as the official return will be sent out in the spring.
Reporting and other financial requirements of the Church in Wales
The Annual Report and Accounts must
- comply with the Constitution and the Accounting Regulations set out in the Constitution
- be available for inspection by the Archdeacons
- be retained along with all the accounting records for 6 years
- be available to the public on request

