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Financial control in religious organizations: A status report
Author(s) -
Wooten Thomas C.,
Coker John W.,
Elmore Robert C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.4
Subject(s) - control (management) , business , accounting , religious organization , public relations , state (computer science) , marketing , political science , management , economics , law , algorithm , computer science
Several recent high profile cases of financial mismanagement in religious organizations have highlighted theneed for all religious nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to have strong internal accounting controls. Theseorganizations are often small, rely on a great deal of volunteer support, and as a result may not have theprofessional oversight to adequately monitor the resources of the organization or the behavior of its leaders. Thepurpose of this article is to assess the current state of financial control for one segment of religious NPOs,churches, and give some suggestions for improvement. In this study over 530 churches of widely varying sizesresponded to an extensive survey about specific internal controls they may or may not have in place. The resultsare assessed in light of preferred practices. Readers can use this information to strengthen current practices andprovide a greater level of assurance that an organization is directing its resources toward its mission.