Surplus Budget

[agarns]

I'm trying to determine if there is an official policy for year end budget surplus in wards and stakes. The handbook seems to say that it should not be carried over unless there is a specific purpose for it in the coming year. Otherwise, surplus should be sent to the stake and then to Salt lake. Is there any definite communication on this?

[russellhltn]

Based on prior years, by default any leftover funds or deficits are carried over from one year to another. However, if the carryover is excessive, the stake may ask for some or all of it back.

If you have leftover, you may want to examine if you're holding enough activates. Keep in mind that any checks cut after Jan 1 will count against next year's budget regardless of when the expense was incurred. So make sure the leaders are not falling behind in asking for reimbursement.

[jirp]

I would wonder how you manage the surplus?(at least of any size) It seems like we are always struggling to make budget. There is no set in stone policy that I know of.

The cure if you have a surplus though is to prepare for the next year materially. You know the library copier is going to need more than one cartridge and X amount of paper, the clerk's office printer will need a cartridge and Y amount of paper. One cartridge for the library, one for the clerks office and paper for a year will probably chew up most of a $500 surplus with no effort at all. Then look at things like sacrament cups, ctr rings that you know you will use. Then add in paper goods for say for 4 ward parties a year. If you had a good year odds are something will come up and you will have a future bad year and this helps level things out.

Another possible: After the year where having 4 huge funerals and a couple of smaller ones in a year practically wrecked the budget. Ward policy here had been to provide paper goods and meat for the funeral meal while the ward provided the rest of the food. The stake presidency allowed us to move the small surplus to an Other account for funerals the next year when we had none during the year. Now that account pays the funeral expense in a year and we balance it back to a set amount from budget at the end of the year if we can. If we can't then it may take multiple years to rebuild that small other account. Because of what is being done this one was done with stake presidency approval.

[eblood66]

The stake presidency allowed us to move the small surplus to an Other account for funerals the next year when we had none during the year. Now that account pays the funeral expense in a year and we balance it back to a set amount from budget at the end of the year if we can. If we can't then it may take multiple years to rebuild that small other account. Because of what is being done this one was done with stake presidency approval.

I'm not sure why you'd need to use an Other account. Wards retain surpluses in the budget from year to year unless the stake asks them to return it. If the stake approves retaining funds for this purpose, you should be able to just carry it over in the budget account.

[jirp]

The stake presidency allowed us to move the small surplus to an Other account for funerals the next year when we had none during the year. Now that account pays the funeral expense in a year and we balance it back to a set amount from budget at the end of the year if we can. If we can't then it may take multiple years to rebuild that small other account. Because of what is being done this one was done with stake presidency approval.

I'm not sure why you'd need to use an Other account. Wards retain surpluses in the budget from year to year unless the stake asks them to return it. If the stake approves retaining funds for this purpose, you should be able to just carry it over in the budget account.

It allows donations into it too which would probably mean maintaining an other account anyway and keeps auditing a little easier than if it was in the main budget while keeping the main budget as simple as possible. Either way would work. It is certainly not a requirement. This is simply one possible way to answer the question.

We spent way to much time discussing how to do it before deciding on this. Right or wrong it is what we have done for now. If it is decided as some future date that account needs to be cleared it should only take a couple of years under normal circumstances to empty using it purely for funerals. I will say the whole local leadership including the stake presidency was in agreement on this action as best for us for now. Some place else could easy reach a different decision.