Financial Policies & Procedures
Review/Development
Clear financial policies help your ministry establish responsibilities, document procedures, and support accountable stewardship. Church Training Center prepares a draft Financial Policies & Procedures manual for your leaders to review, edit, and approve.
What Your Financial Policies May Need to Address
A policy establishes what your ministry authorizes or requires. A procedure explains how that policy
is carried out, who is responsible, and how the work is documented. Together, they provide a clear
written framework for financial administration.
Financial Authority & Responsibilities
Governing-body oversight, finance team responsibilities, delegated authority, and approval of financial decisions.
Receiving & Managing Funds
Contributions, deposits, banking, transfers, account access, restricted resources, and reconciliations.
Spending & Documentation
Purchasing, payment authorization, vendor transactions, reimbursements, credit cards, and supporting records.
Budgeting, Reporting & Oversight
Budget preparation and approval, financial reporting, review responsibilities, and organizational accountability.
Follow the Money
Understand how resources are received, authorized, recorded, managed, and reported.
Keep It Simple
Develop clear, practical procedures that staff and volunteers can understand and consistently follow.
These are examples of subjects a manual may address. The contents of each draft reflect the ministry’s circumstances and agreed scope.
A Written Manual Your Ministry Can Review and Approve
Church Training Center prepares a draft Financial Policies & Procedures manual reflecting your ministry’s financial activities, responsibilities, and organizational context.
The draft provides a written framework for your leaders to consider, revise as needed, and approve through the appropriate authority.
A substantive document your ministry can take forward for review and adoption.
Principal Deliverable
Draft Financial Policies & Procedures Manual
- Prepared by Church Training Center
- Reviewed and edited by your ministry's leaders
- Approved through your ministry's appropriate authority
How the Engagement Takes Shape
The manual is prepared around your ministry’s actual responsibilities and the work agreed upon together.
01
Understand the Ministry's Practices
Review available policies, governing responsibilities, financial activities, and the procedures currently followed.
02
Prepare the Draft Manual
Church Training Center develops the written Financial Policies & Procedures manual within the agreed scope.
03
Ministry Review & Approval
Your leaders review the draft, make needed edits and policy decisions, and approve the manual through their established authority.
Your Ministry Retains Its Financial Authority
The policies must reflect your ministry’s governing structure, financial responsibilities,
and decisions. Church Training Center prepares the draft, while your ministry retains
responsibility for the policies it adopts.
Church Training Center
Prepares the draft Financial Policies & Procedures manual using the organizational information provided and the scope agreed upon for the engagement.
Your Ministry's Leadership
Provides information about its financial practices and governing authority; reviews, edits, and approves the draft; and oversees implementation and ongoing maintenance.
Financial policy preparation does not constitute legal advice, CPA assurance, or certification
of regulatory compliance. Legal, tax, employment, or denominational questions may
require review by an appropriately qualified or authorized professional.
Available Independently or Through Ministry Accounting
Church Training Center offers Financial Policies & Procedures Review/Development
as an independent service. Preparation of a draft manual is also included at two Ministry
Accounting support levels.
Through Ministry Accounting
Included in Capacity and Shared Stewardship
Preparation of a draft Financial Policies & Procedures manual is included at Capacity and continues at Shared Stewardship because the support levels are cumulative. Ministry leaders review, edit, and approve the draft.
As an Independent Service
Individually scoped and quoted
Your ministry may request Financial Policies & Procedures Review/Development without purchasing ongoing accounting services. Church Training Center establishes the work with you and prepares a draft manual within the agreed scope.
No Ministry Accounting engagement required.
Each engagement is shaped by the ministry’s circumstances and agreed scope.
Additional work beyond that scope is addressed separately.
When a Different Kind of Financial Support Is Needed
Developing a written manual is one part of sound financial administration. Depending on
your ministry’s needs, examining existing controls, conducting an internal review, or
preparing finance team members may be the more appropriate service.
Financial Controls and Procedures Audit
Assessment of existing practices
Church Training Center examines existing financial controls and procedures within an agreed scope. This service focuses on how current practices operate, rather than preparing a policy manual.
Internal Audit Coaching
A review led by your ministry
Your ministry’s team conducts a structured internal review using Church Training Center’s tools and coaching. The team carries out the review and develops its findings.
Finance Team Orientation & Training
Practical preparation for financial roles
A two-hour orientation addressing finance-team roles, procedures, and responsibilities, including a copy of The Ministry of Money.
Each service addresses a different need and can be commissioned independently.None
is automatically included in a Financial Policies & Procedures Review/Development engagement.
Common Questions About Financial Policy Development
These answers clarify how the service works, what your ministry can expect, and where responsibility for the completed manual rests.
What if our ministry does not have a written financial policies manual?
Yes. Existing policies and procedures can be considered as part of the engagement. They help identify what is already documented and what may need clarification or development. The specific work is established through the agreed scope.
Must we use Ministry Accounting to purchase this service?
The draft is prepared using information about your ministry's governing responsibilities, financial activities, and current procedures. Its contents reflect the circumstances and scope established for the engagement, rather than a universal set of policies for every organization.
Your ministry does. Church Training Center prepares the draft, but your authorized leaders determine its final provisions, make any needed edits, and approve it through the ministry's appropriate governing process.
Does the engagement include implementing the approved policies?
Give Your Financial Responsibilities a Clear Written Framework
Church Training Center can prepare a draft Financial Policies & Procedures manual for your
ministry’s leaders to review, edit, and approve. Schedule a consultation to discuss your current practices,
financial responsibilities, and the appropriate scope of work.