aebrown wrote:Although the procedure you outlined is indeed possible, one needs to exercise some care on the option of "just go edit the check to make the corrections." The concern is leaving a proper audit trail for what was done.
The proper audit trail would come from the reason for the change in the MLS and on a MLS generated Finance transaction report.
aebrown wrote:In the example shown, the bishop would have approved the original check to be written from AMFA:YM for a camp. Later, it was found that there was insufficient money in AMFA:YM for all the expenses, so Budget funds need to be used to cover the shortfall.
The real problem is that the original check should have never been written from the other category without sufficient funds. It only takes a second to verify the amount available in any category.
aebrown wrote: If the clerk simply changes the category for some portion of the expense from AMFA:YM to Budget:Young Men, then he has essentially unilaterally decided to spend Budget money without the bishop's approval.
The guiding principle is: "All expenses must be approved (in writing) by the bishop". The Bishop then relies on the Finance Clerk to ensure funds are coming out of the proper expense category. This include making the proper corrections when needed. It not necessary for the Bishop the determine what category/account the funds come out of.
aebrown wrote:So in my opinion, this approach would create an audit exception, unless the bishop somehow gives his written approval for the category change.
If the auditor wants to be that critical then thats a hit I will gladly take.
aebrown wrote:That could be done with some additional form that documents the category change and includes the bishop's signature, which would be attached to the documentation for the original expense.
It could be. But I don't think its necessary as the Bishop has already approve the expense. The clerk is only correcting a clerical error, and documentation for the reason is recorded in the MLS. The Bishop has enough to do without having to sign one more unnecessary form
aebrown wrote:Of course, if a separate check is written to cover the shortfall, the normal approval process and paper trail will clearly satisfy all audit requirements.
If this was to happen in my ward the only paper tail you will have is the check stub with the purpose for the check, the donation slip, with the bishops and clerks signature on MLS generated Expense Report.