Home » News » Bush Telegraph » Issue archive » July 2003 » Finance

Finance Newsletter

Computers

Good progress continues to be made on the new computer system. Testing of the software is underway as is the training of the staff that will be using the system. So far testing has not revealed any significant issues. The new system should deliver the improvements we expect.

The old system did not allow us to close old unused accounts. We could suppress the printing of these accounts but we did not like to do so, as that would hide any misposting that may occur. When we shift to the new system we will not transfer these accounts. There are also a number of accounts that have a balance of a few cents that will be closed as well.

The number of accounts we operate for a parish will also reduce. Your national services levy account, Beneficiary Fund parish assessment account, accounts receivable account and mission and ministry account will be merged into one account. Your POI number will remain unaltered and the parish may continue to operate a number of accounts in the Amalgamated Investment Fund. The new system has significantly improved reporting that will allow us to keep track of different types of transactions eliminating our need to keep a separate account for each transaction type. Fewer accounts mean few opportunities to post entries to the wrong account.

Implementation is running behind plan largely as a result of some absences due to the flu that is presently going around. We have decided to defer implementation a month to 1 August as a contingency against further delays. We don't expect any further delays but we have now used the entire contingency in our plan. If further delays were to occur production of account statements would be late and having worked hard to bring processing up to date we don't want it to fall behind.

Parishes will not be affected by the delay other than that they will receive old style statements for a further month.

Amalgamated Investment Fund

The interest rate paid on deposits with the Amalgamated Investment Fund remains at 6.25%.

Ministers Mortgages

The expected cut in BNZ mortgage interest rates did not occur until late in June so has been made effective from 1 July. From that date the interest payable on minister's mortgages will be 6.85%.

Audit Confirmations

Our auditors, Ernst & Young will be writing to a selection of parishes and ministers and asking them to confirm the balance they have with the Assembly Office at 30 June. If you receive such a request I ask that you deal with it promptly so we are able to complete the 2003 financial statements promptly. If you disagree with your balance can you please provide to the auditors as much detail as possible of the reason for your disagreement. This will allow us to investigate and if necessary correct statement balances. Responses should be sent directly to the auditors though you can copy this office if you wish. The auditors pass on to us for resolution any queries they receive.

Basic Stipend

The Basic Stipend was increased to $35,288 pa with effect from 1 July 2003. This is an increase of 2.5%, the rate of CPI inflation for the year ended 31 March 2003. No adjustment has been made to the level of the tax-free allowance.

Ministers' Stipend Calculations

A number of Treasurers have reminded me there is a mistake in the calculation of the stipend for a minister with in his/her own home. In the model the minister's PAYE is added back to her/his stipend instead of deducted. While this may seem to be answered prayer unfortunately it is not. A revised calculation to this newsletter is available on request. You will see that the numbers used for the calculation in the model are correct. I apologise for any inconvenience our error may have caused.

Annuities

Annuities paid by the Beneficiary Fund have been increased by 1.25% with effect from 1 July 2003. Annuities paid on 20 July will incorporate the new rate. The increase is the minimum permitted by the rules of the Beneficiary Fund. As the investment climate remains uncertain The Beneficiary Fund Committee considered it prudent to err on the side of caution when setting the level of annuities. Payments from the Fund that are linked to the basic stipend will be increased by 2.5% in line with the increase in that payment. These payments will also be adjusted in the 20 July payment.

General Assembly Levies

Parishes should have by now received notification of their National Services Levy and Beneficiary Fund Assessment for the 2003/04 year. Beneficiary Fund payments commence at the new rate in July while payment of the National Services Levy at the new rate starts in August. There is no NSL payment in July.

Insurance Renewal

Negotiations on premium rates for the new premium year are underway. At this time I have nothing to add to my earlier comments on the likely cost of renewal premiums.

The Insurance Committee will meet later in the month to consider our premium options and make a decision on how to best use the insurance fund to minimise premiums. You will recall that last year we used the fund to offer a prompt payment discount. This offer was well received with most parishes receiving a financial benefit from prompt payment.

Geoffrey Bell
Manager Financial Services