By Tracey Patterson.
Throughout 2007, sPanz will introduce the departments that make up the nine-person team at the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Wellington Assembly Office. This issue we take a look at the Financial Services Department, or FSD as they’re often known.
The Financial Services Department is responsible for the measurement and management of the Church’s finances.
The team is made up of four hardworking and motivated staff: Brendan Sweeney, finance manager; Margaret Fawcett, finance administrator; Katrina Graham, finance administrator; and Nick Coates, accountant. While each of them have multiple individual roles and responsibilities within the unit, they work hard as a team to carry out the instructions of parishes and Church governance, as well as other financial investigative and reporting tasks. “My staff have a very valuable mix of skills and experience, which is appreciated highly throughout the Church”, says Brendan. “In any one day they could go from data input, accounts and clerical, to investigative and policy work.”
The majority of the team’s day-to-day interaction occurs with parishes and ministers, mainly in relation to the administration of the beneficiary fund, administration of the seniority allowance, issuing of ministers loans, mobilcard accounts, parish insurance and the Presbyterian Investment Fund. “Parishes and ministers are our primary customer base – we are here to serve them.” In addition, Brendan also has a close working relationship with the Council of Assembly, Resource Committee, presbyteries and other groups within the Church such as the Pacific Island Synod, the Asian Congregations, Youth Ministry, Archives and policy groups.
“Our job is to provide visibility on how money is being used to conduct the activities of the Church, particularly relating to global mission, national mission and the School of Ministry”, says Brendan. As finance manager, he reports to the Resource Sub-committee, who in turn produce a six-monthly report to the wider Church on financial performance and financial position. He has been in the role on a contract basis but in January 2007 accepted a permanent appointment to the position.
In an endeavour to continue to improve this visibility, FSD, in conjunction with the Church’s communications team, is working on a document that will outline to the wider Church exactly how year-to-date spend is broken down relating to all Church functions. This document will be published on our website in early 2007. “It will make interesting reading”, Brendan says.
With a reduction of numbers from eight full-time staff in 2003 to just four today, FSD has become a very busy, motivated and productive unit. However, Brendan acknowledges that there has been an element of frustration from parishes and ministers who have in the past expressed that the department perhaps hasn’t being performing as well as it possibly could. He says that the team is very aware of those frustrations and made a big effort in the past year to address them. “We are working a lot smarter, and feedback that we are getting from parishes, the Resource Sub-committee and Council of Assembly is quite clear on the turnaround of FSD performance over the last couple of years," Brendan says. “However it is still a work in progress and we can improve further.”
Brendan explains that the department is also aware of the financial restrictions and struggles that are placed on many of the parishes and of the current trend of diminishing memberships and collections. “We don’t want to be seen as just a collector of parish taxes – we do want to provide greater visibility and explanation of how funds are used, and offer support and advice when needed.”
One objective for 2007 is to establish a financial coaching and mentoring service for presbyteries and parishes whereby the department will be available to offer financial, finance process and regulatory advice. FSD has been underutilised as an advisory resource for parishes, Brendan says, and the team wants treasurers and clerks to know that they are available should they require it. “We are very much service-orientated and committed to serving the Church.”
The best way to get in touch with the Financial Services Department is to email fsd@presbyterian.org.nz or telephone the Assembly Office on (04) 801-6000.
Next issue: we profile human resources