News and information for Parish Treasurers June 2018

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1 News and information for Parish Treasurers June 2018 NEWS We re recruiting! The post of Finance Manager is currently vacant if you or someone you know is a qualified accountant and might be interested in joining the Finance Team please look at vacancies page of our website at where this post is being advertised. The closing date is 25 th June. Card readers Following a 6 month national trial, the Parish Buying service has contracted with 2 card reader companies: SumUp and izettle. The Parish Buying team negotiated special low transaction rates for Church of England and Church in Wales organisations. What is a card reader? As many people no longer carry cash it's becoming increasingly important to provide other ways for people to give. One solution is getting a card reader for your church, which works alongside a smart phone or tablet. Whether it's using the Chip and PIN function or the tap of a contactless card, a card reader enables a modern way for people to, pay for wedding fees & church hall hire,, even teas and coffees! To learn about the equipment needed and the fees involved, please read the FAQs and helpful hints document at FAQ-National-Stewardship-Team pdf. Information is also available in the Stewardship News attached. Bishops Lent Appeal So far the DBF has received over 11,000 towards the Bishops Lent Appeal to support Lay Ministry in the Diocese of Bath and Wells and across the five dioceses of Zambia. Thank you for this. If you have any more payments towards the Lent Appeal, please do bank them, or

2 let us have them, in order for us to gain a final total. If you have any unused blue Lent appeal gift aid envelopes, please return them to The Old Deanery. REMINDERS Have you sent in your Annual Report and Accounts and Return of Parish Finance? All PCCs should by now have had their accounts independently examined and presented to the APCM. It is a legal requirement to send a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts, together with the signed Independent Examiner s Report, to the Diocese within 28 days of the APCM. Please send them by post or to Yvonne.thompson@bathwells.anglican.org or by post at The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG as soon as possible. The Return of Parish Finance form can be completed online here. Yvonne Thompson can provide log in details or please send it to the diocesan office with your accounts Parish Share Survey forms These forms were sent out to Churchwardens at the end of January with a request for completion and return by 30 April. As Treasurer your signature should have been requested on the form to declare that you agree with the reported membership and choice of category. If you have not yet seen this form, please contact your Churchwarden. It is important to complete this form as accurately and fully as possible as it used to calculate next year s parish share. If no form is received by 10 th June, the Archdeaconry Scrutiny Group will have to make an assessment of the Parish s membership and category details based on the previous year's data, together with any changes known to them. This could result in your parish being asked for a share which does not represent your current membership and category. If you require a fresh copy of the form and relevant information, they can be found on the diocesan website Parish Share page BANKING MATTERS Deposit Funds CBF Declared Rate Change From Wednesday 28 March, the rate on the CBF Deposit Fund was increased from 0.35% to 0.40% (0.40% AER). Delay to NatWest bank interest payments The March quarterly notional interest payment made on NatWest accounts in the Diocesan Cash Management Scheme has been delayed. An error on the calculation has been identified and the bank has now rectified this. The notional interest ( including a compounding adjustment) should reach bank accounts within the next few days.

3 NatWest One Cards The Diocesan card scheme is closing to new applicants but NatWest can now offer purchasing cards to parishes directly. Please contact the NatWest Commercial Team on if you would like a parish card for online purchases. TRAINING AND SUPPORT Training for treasurers Treasurer s Training Day for new Treasurers and others who have not attended recently, Friday 5 th October 2018, The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG. To book, please contact Yvonne.thompson@bathwells.anglican.org tel Fees Training For anyone who completes the Parochial Fees Return including clergy, administrators and treasurers. Please register your interest. Dates for training days are to be confirmed. Podcasts In order to make training accessible to everyone throughout the year, we are looking to the idea of producing some podcasts which will cover various training topics. This concept is still in the early stages, but watch this space for future developments. Please let Yvonne Thompson know if there are any particular areas of training you would like covered in this format. Cashbook Champions There are currently three Cashbook Champions who can provide assistance with the day to day support and troubleshooting of the Cashbook. They can be contacted by ing CashbookSupport@bathwells.anglican.org. If you are an existing user of the Cashbook and would be willing to become a champion to support other users, please Imogen Taylor. To book a place on any course or to register your interest please Yvonne.thompson@bathwells.anglican.org OTHER NEWS New Treasurers New treasurers should receive our Welcome within three months of starting signposting you towards where you can find support in your role,. If you are a new treasurer and haven t yet received this, please jessica.cook@bathwells.anglican.org.

4 GDPR For the latest information, please visit the diocesan website Finance Team Roles and Responsibilities Imogen Taylor Head of Finance and Operations - Annual statutory accounts - Annual budget - Balance sheet and cash flow management - Financial planning, policies, processes and procedures Sally Westlake Assistant Accountant - Old Deanery staff payroll and pensions - School Funding income (DFC/LCVAP) and expenditure - Accounting for Fund for Church Growth and Zambia Jessica Cook Parish Share and Stipends Officer - Accounting and queries for Parish Share and BMA - Clergy matters stipends, grants, moves & vacancies Juliette Hill Purchase Ledger Controller and Custodians Trusts - Accounting for Trusts - Processing receipts and payments and bank reconciliations - Clergy council tax and water rates Yvonne Thompson Parish Returns and Parochial Fees Officer - Parochial fees and fee audits. - Parish returns annual accounts and Return of Parish Finance, Statistics for Mission - Organising Treasurer training

5 From the Parish Resources & Development team The latest Stewardship News is attached and covers GDPR, card readers, Data Developments, National Churches Trust and Legacies. Funding Bulletin The Parish Resources and Development Team can assist with grants available to churchesthey produce a comprehensive Funding Bulletin which is updated on a regular basis. It is automatically posted on the Luke14:28 forum or you can sign up to receive it directly by contacting sue.whitehead@bathwells.anglican.org. Let s meet and phone conversations have their place but sometimes there is no substitute for talking through an issue face to face. If you would like to pop in and see us, please contact Imogen Taylor tel If you are receiving this Newsletter by post but have an address and would be happy to receive an version in future, please let us know by giving your address to jessica.cook@bathwells.anglican.org.