Financial Secretary

Financial Secretary - Job Description 

 

Position Purpose 

The Financial Secretary serves Chisholm Creek Baptist Church by maintaining accurate, timely, confidential, and well-documented contribution and financial records and by performing assigned financial-administrative functions in accordance with the Church By-Laws, Financial Policies & Procedures, Personnel policies, approved budget, and applicable law. 

 

The Financial Secretary is principally a financial recordkeeping and administrative position. The position does not independently establish financial policy, approve expenditures, authorize contracts, establish compensation, open or close financial accounts, or exercise authority reserved to the Senior Pastor, Budget and Finance Committee, Personnel Committee, Trustees, Board of Deacons/Executive Board, or congregation. 

 

Accountability and Supervision 

●Serves under the administrative supervision established by the Church and its Personnel policies. 

●Works in coordination with the Senior Pastor, Church Administrator, Budget and Finance Committee, Personnel Committee when appropriate, and other authorized financial personnel. 

●Provides records, reports, and information reasonably required for authorized financial oversight. 

●Performs all assigned duties subject to the Church's internal-control and segregation-of-duties requirements.        

 

  Essential Responsibilities

 

1. Contribution Records 

 

The Financial Secretary shall: 

●Maintain complete and accurate individual contribution records. 

●Record contributions according to the Church's approved accounting and fund structure. 

●Properly record designated contributions, special offerings, electronic contributions, and other approved forms of giving. 

●Reconcile contribution records with authorized count sheets, deposit documentation, electronic-giving reports, and accounting records as appropriate. 

●Investigate contribution-record discrepancies and coordinate correction with appropriate authorized personnel. 

●Maintain documentation sufficient to provide a clear audit trail from contribution records to supporting documentation. 

●Prepare and distribute periodic and year-end contribution statements in accordance with Church procedures and applicable tax requirements. 

●Assist contributors with legitimate questions concerning their individual contribution records.

●Refrain from issuing charitable-contribution credit for payments or arrangements that do not qualify as charitable gifts. 

 

2. Donor Confidentiality 

 

The Financial Secretary shall: 

●Maintain strict confidentiality regarding individual giving records.   

●Restrict access to contribution information to persons authorized by Church policy or law.

●Protect donor information in physical and electronic form. 

●Exercise appropriate discretion when responding to requests for donor or contribution information

●Promptly report suspected unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or loss of confidential donor information.     

 

  3. Receipts, Offerings, and Ministry Revenue

The Financial Secretary shall, as assigned: 

●Receive verified offering and count documentation from authorized counters. 

●Compare contribution records with count sheets, deposit records, electronic-giving reports, and other supporting documentation. 

●Maintain records sufficient to trace receipts from collection through recording and deposit. 

●Record electronic, online, ACH, check, cash, fundraiser, ministry revenue, and other approved receipts appropriately. 

●Maintain appropriate records for designated funds, special offerings, missions, benevolence, and other approved purposes. 

●Ensure ministry revenue documentation identifies the source, ministry, date, and amount when applicable. 

●Immediately identify material shortages, overages, missing funds, or unexplained discrepancies. 

 

  The Financial Secretary shall not remove money from an offering, ministry receipt, fundraiser, or other collection for direct payment, purchase, reimbursement, loan, or gift. All receipts must first be recorded and processed through the Church's normal financial system.   

 

  The Financial Secretary shall not serve as the sole person responsible for receiving, counting, recording, depositing, and reconciling the same funds. 

 

4. Cash Handling and Safeguarding 

The Financial Secretary shall follow all Church cash-handling and safeguarding procedures applicable to duties assigned to the position. 

●Shall not independently determine who is authorized to count offerings, access the Church safe, make deposits, sign checks, or review reconciliations. 

●Shall ensure funds and records within the Financial Secretary's custody are appropriately secured. 

●Shall follow established procedures for the transfer of funds and financial documentation to authorized persons.   

●Shall promptly report any material shortage, overage, missing funds, suspected theft, or unexplained discrepancy to the Church Administrator, Senior Pastor, and Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. 

 

5. Deposits 

  The Financial Secretary may prepare or make deposits only when specifically authorized under the Church's established financial procedures.

 

  When assigned deposit responsibilities, the Financial Secretary shall: 

●Prepare deposits promptly. 

●Maintain count sheets, deposit slips, electronic records, and other supporting documentation. 

●Verify that deposit information agrees with authorized receipt and contribution records. 

●Preserve documentation sufficient to trace deposited amounts to underlying receipts.

 

Authority to make deposits is established by the Budget and Finance Committee and is not  inherent in the Financial Secretary position. 

 

6. Accounting and Financial Recordkeeping 

The Financial Secretary shall perform assigned bookkeeping and accounting functions, which may include:

 

●Post receipts and other authorized financial transactions. 

●Maintaining accurate general-ledger or subsidiary records within the Church's accounting system. 

●Maintaining records for designated and restricted funds. 

●Assisting with timely month-end and year-end posting and closing procedures. 

●Maintaining organized supporting documentation for financial transactions. 

●Assisting with adjusting or closing entries when properly authorized. 

●Maintaining records concerning liabilities and other material financial activity when assigned. 

●Identifying unusual, unsupported, incomplete, inconsistent, or improperly documented transactions and referring them for review. 

 

Financial records must be maintained sufficiently to record receipts, expenditures, assets, liabilities, designated funds, payroll, and other material financial activity assigned to the position.

 

7. Accounts Payable and Disbursement Support  

  When assigned, the Financial Secretary may:

●Receive and organize invoices and payment requests. 

●Verify that required documentation and approvals are present. 

●Enter approved invoices or payments into the accounting system. 

●Prepare checks or electronic payments only after required authorization has been obtained. 

●Maintain documentation supporting payments and disbursements. 

●Identify expenditures lacking required authorization or documentation and return them for correction.

●Assist in ensuring authorized obligations are processed in a timely manner.   

 

  The Financial Secretary does not independently authorize an expenditure merely because the position processes or records the transaction. 

   The person preparing a payment should not be the sole person authorizing that payment whenever reasonably practicable.   

 

  8. Purchasing and Reimbursement Controls   

  The Financial Secretary shall not:

 

●Treat processing authority as purchasing authority. 

●Approve his or her own expenditure or reimbursement. 

●Circumvent required Senior Pastor, Budget and Finance Committee, or other approval. 

●Process an unsupported reimbursement when documentation or authorization required by Church policy is absent.    

 

  When processing purchases or reimbursements, the Financial Secretary shall verify compliance with the Church's documented approval and supporting-documentation requirements.

 

9. Bank Reconciliation and Internal Controls 

The Financial Secretary may participate in reconciliation procedures only when assigned and when appropriate independent review exists. 

 

The Financial Secretary shall observe the following principles: 

●No one person should control all material stages of a financial transaction. 

●Authorization, custody of assets, transaction entry, check preparation, signing, deposit, and reconciliation should be separated or independently reviewed whenever reasonably practicable. 

●Bank reconciliations shall receive independent review. 

● A person performing or reviewing a reconciliation should not also be the sole person responsible for preparing, approving, or signing disbursements from the same account whenever reasonably practicable. 

●Bank statements and reconciliation documentation shall remain available for independent review. 

●Unusual items, stale checks, unexplained transfers, unauthorized charges, and reconciliation differences shall be promptly investigated or referred for investigation.

 

10. Financial Reporting Support 

The Financial Secretary shall: 

●Assist in preparing regular financial statements and reports from the Church's accounting records. 

●Provide accurate information needed by authorized Church leadership. 

●Assist with reports comparing receipts and expenditures with the approved budget. 

●Maintain information concerning cash balances, designated funds, liabilities, and other assigned financial matters.

●Assist the Administrator and Budget and Finance Committee in monitoring financial activity. 

●Preserve donor and individual compensation confidentiality in financial reporting. 

●Provide supporting information needed for authorized membership financial reporting.   

 

  Preparation or processing of a report does not constitute approval of that report or of the underlying transactions.

 

  11. Payroll and Compensation Administration

If assigned responsibility for payroll administration, the Financial Secretary may: 

 

●Process payroll accurately and timely based upon properly authorized compensation, benefits, deductions, and employment information. 

●Maintain payroll records concerning gross compensation, deductions, taxes, benefits, and net pay. 

●Process authorized current or retroactive interim compensation through the Church's normal payroll or other legally appropriate compensation process. 

●Maintain supporting documentation for payroll changes. 

●Coordinate routine payroll reporting and administrative requirements. 

●Provide payroll registers or equivalent information for appropriate administrative review. 

●Maintain strict confidentiality regarding payroll and individual compensation information.     

 

  The Financial Secretary has no independent authority to establish or change employee compensation, benefits, employment status, job descriptions, or Personnel policy. Payroll or compensation changes shall not be processed without documented authorization from the persons or bodies possessing authority under the Church By-Laws and policies.

 

12. Audit, Financial Review, and Internal-Control Support 

The Financial Secretary shall: 

●Maintain financial records in a condition reasonably suitable for annual audit or financial review. 

●Provide authorized records and supporting documentation requested for audit, review, compilation, agreed-upon procedures, or other approved financial examination. 

●Assist in researching discrepancies or questions identified through financial review. 

●Cooperate with corrective-action procedures resulting from authorized audit or financial-review findings. 

●Preserve the independence of reviewers and shall not obstruct or improperly limit access to records by persons authorized to conduct financial oversight.     

 

  13. Record Retention and Document Management

The Financial Secretary shall: 

●Maintain contribution, accounting, deposit, payment, payroll, and other assigned financial records in an orderly and retrievable manner. 

●Follow Church record-retention requirements and applicable legal requirements. 

●Protect financial records against unauthorized access, alteration, destruction, or loss. 

●Maintain appropriate electronic records and backups as directed. 

●Preserve sufficient documentation to permit independent review of financial activity.     

 

  14. Budget and Finance Committee Support

The Financial Secretary shall: 

 

●Provide requested financial information to the Budget and Finance Committee. 

●Assist with information needed for development and monitoring of the annual unified budget. 

●Provide supporting records necessary for review of Church financial activity. 

●Implement authorized administrative financial procedures applicable to the position. 

●Promptly bring material discrepancies, irregularities, documentation deficiencies, or internal-control concerns to appropriate leadership. 

●The Budget and Finance Committee - not the Financial Secretary - appoints authorized check signers, offering counters, and depositors and establishes other financial authorizations assigned to the Committee by the By-Laws and Financial Policies & Procedures.     

 

  Internal-Control and Authority Limitations

The Financial Secretary shall not, solely by virtue of holding this position: 

 

●Establish or amend Church financial policy. 

●Approve the annual unified budget. 

●Authorize major or otherwise restricted unbudgeted expenditures. 

●Authorize special offerings or fundraisers. 

●Execute contracts on behalf of the Church. 

●Open or close Church financial accounts. 

●Select Church financial depositories. 

●Add or remove authorized bank signers. 

●Appoint offering counters or depositors. 

●Determine access to the Church safe. 

●Determine employee compensation, benefits, or employment status. 

●Approve his or her own reimbursement or expenditure. 

●Incur long-term indebtedness on behalf of the Church. 

●Exercise authority reserved by the By-Laws or Church policy to another person, committee, board, Trustees, or the congregation.     

 

  Where staffing limitations require overlapping responsibilities, an appropriate independent-review procedure shall be established.

Qualifications 

The Financial Secretary should demonstrate: 

●Personal integrity and trustworthiness. 

●Strong attention to detail and accuracy. 

●Ability to maintain strict confidentiality. 

●Competence with bookkeeping/accounting software, spreadsheets, electronic-giving systems, payroll systems when applicable, and ordinary office technology. 

●Working knowledge of basic bookkeeping and accounting principles. 

●Ability to organize and preserve financial documentation. 

● Ability to follow established financial procedures and internal controls.     

 ●Ability to communicate clearly with staff, Church leadership, members, vendors, financial institutions, and professional service providers. 

●Willingness to work within established lines of authority. 

●Ability to recognize discrepancies or potential control issues and appropriately elevate them rather than act beyond the authority of the position.  

 

  Previous bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, banking, nonprofit, or church  financial-administration experience is preferred. 

 

Employment and Review 

Compensation, work schedule, employment status, benefits, supervision, performance review, and other terms of employment shall be established through the Church's Personnel processes and applicable policies. 

     

  The Personnel Committee should periodically review this job description in consultation with the Senior Pastor, Administrator, and Budget and Finance Committee and revise it as Church operations, staffing, technology, law, accounting practices, or financial procedures change.

Job Description