Tech Forum

Where do we obtain the stake and ward financial records handbook?

farwest wrote:Where do we obtain the stake and ward financial records handbook?

There is no such handbook, per se. The financial records handbook is Chapter 16 of the Church Handbook of Instructions (2006), Book 1, which deals with all the high-level policies regarding Finances.

For more detailed instructions, see:

• the MLS Help file (there's an entire section on Financial policies, plus plenty of how-to topics)
• The Record-Keeping and Auditing Training online (or downloaded from the same page).
• The Financial Audit forms (available in MLS)
• http://clerk.lds.org, which has a variety of policy statements
• The Record-Keeping FAQ (available with the training, or in MLS)
• Official letters sent to stake presidents and bishops
• Messages sent from CHQ via MLS messaging

farwest wrote:Where do we obtain the stake and ward financial records handbook?

If you log into your Local Unit Web Site (affectionately known as LUWS) and have a calling in a leadership or clerking position, you will see a box in the lower-right (just above the Church logo) titled "Record Keeping Information". Clicking on this will take you to a screen where you will find links to the following list of documents...

• Clerk and Auditor Training Lessons (link to online training)
• Computer Transfer and Disposal Instructions (PDF)
• Local Unit Security Policies (PDF)
• MLS Reconciliation Instructions (PDF)
• Emergency Check Procedures (PDF)
• MLS Membership Supplement (PDF, DOC)
• MLS Finance Supplement (PDF, DOC)
• Record Keeping FAQ's (PDF)

Cheers,
Mike

Mikerowaved wrote:If you log into your Local Unit Web Site (affectionately known as LUWS) and have a calling in a leadership or clerking position, you will see a box in the lower-right (just above the Church logo) titled "Record Keeping Information". Clicking on this will take you to a screen where you will find links to the following list of documents...

• Clerk and Auditor Training Lessons (link to online training)
• Computer Transfer and Disposal Instructions (PDF)
• Local Unit Security Policies (PDF)
• MLS Reconciliation Instructions (PDF)
• Emergency Check Procedures (PDF)
• MLS Membership Supplement (PDF, DOC)
• MLS Finance Supplement (PDF, DOC)
• Record Keeping FAQ's (PDF)

Cheers,
Mike

This is great.

I printed them up for the bishopric for a quick guide locked away in our cabinets.

Thanks.

kmalone wrote:I printed them up for the bishopric for a quick guide locked away in our cabinets.

I'm glad you are magnifying your calling and being helpful to the ward leaders. If you plan to use the copies you printed from the web as future reference then I advise one word of caution. You should regularly check the source for the documents you printed. These on-line documents can change without you knowing what has changed. The amount of effort and resourses needed to ensure accuracy of information in this situation can be more than you want to expend. I can imagine you printing each document regularly just to ensure you have the most up-to-date and accurate copy. How much paper will this consume? How often should you make copies?

Do you see my point? I do not want to discourage your desire to be helpful. Perhaps making electronic copies saved to the ward administrative computer can be just as helpful. I would also save a link to the on-line documents as a bookmark in your web browser, or even in a OpenOffice Write document, for quick navigation to them.

If you have Internet capability for your ward administrative computer then updating and linking to the on-line documents is more efficient in terms of having the most correct and latest. If you do not have Internet capability for your ward administrative computer then updating the electronic copies from another Internet connected computer is still less involved.

That's true, jdlessley, however the Church has been kind enough to provide a "Distribution Date" next to the document links making checking for newer ones pretty easy. 7 of the 10 were published Oct 2007 and the rest 2 to 3 years prior, so if anything pops up later than Oct 2007, you know it's time to update.

Having some printed material on hand is very useful, especially for units without the internet. In particular, the "Emergency Check Procedures", as it talks about what to do if the MLS computer is without power, or otherwise malfunctioning. Of course, it wouldn't help if the instructions on what to do were stored on the hard drive that crashed.

Mike

Mikerowaved wrote:That's true, jdlessley, however the Church has been kind enough to provide a "Distribution Date" next to the document links making checking for newer ones pretty easy. 7 of the 10 were published Oct 2007 and the rest 2 to 3 years prior, so if anything pops up later than Oct 2007, you know it's time to update.

Having some printed material on hand is very useful, especially for units without the internet. In particular, the "Emergency Check Procedures", as it talks about what to do if the MLS computer is without power, or otherwise malfunctioning. Of course, it wouldn't help if the instructions on what to do were stored on the hard drive that crashed.

Mike

i was in my Bishopric meeting last Sunday an mentioned the resources, It was interesting to see the look on their face when they realized they wouldn't be able to issue checks from MLS if it wasn't working. Our FM guys are great but it still takes time to resolve issues.

kmalone wrote:i was in my Bishopric meeting last Sunday an mentioned the resources, It was interesting to see the look on their face when they realized they wouldn't be able to issue checks from MLS if it wasn't working. Our FM guys are great but it still takes time to resolve issues.

I am not sure what you really communicated to your bishopric. True you cannot print checks using MLS if it is down but you can write checks manually. The procedures to do this are found by clicking the 'Record Keeping Information' button on either your ward home page or your stake home page.

I've included it here because you must be a web administrator to use the 'Record Keeping Information' button. This issue has already been address in another thread.

1. Enter check data in MLS as usual.
2. Print checks as usual.
3. Telephone 1-800-537-5932 (or 240-3496 in Salt Lake area), option 1, the same day the checks are printed (or if after business hours, by 10 a.m. mountain time on the next business day).
4. Mail or deliver checks to payees.
5. Transmit as soon as possible.
[align=left]If MLS Is Not Able to Print Checks
Handwrite the checks on your MLS check stock using these instructions:[/align]
1. The following items must be on the check (see example below):
• Date written
• Pay (longhand-written amount of check) dollars
• To the order of (payee’s name)
• Numeric amount of check
• Two authorized signatures
2. Telephone 1-800-537-5932 (or 240-3496 in Salt Lake area), option 1, the same day the checks are written (or if after business hours, by 10 a.m. mountain time on the next business day)
3. Once MLS is working again, the check data must be entered into MLS and the check printed on ablank sheet of paper. Do not use a sheet of check stock paper for this purpose.
4. File the check information printed on plain paper in step 3 with the backup of the check.

Assuming your computer is operational, and is the reason you can't view the PDF files. :p