Following up on an advertisement appearing in a recent issue of Christianity Today magazine, I ordered and rapidly received CHURCH ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING, by H. Ronald Ballough, CPA. A good, accurate description of the 25 page booklet is contained in the Introduction: "This guide is designed to assist the church treasurer in the task of accumulating and collecting the accounting records to communicate the financial activity of the church in summary form, simplifying accounting procedures by presenting finanacial statements for use within the church on a cash basis.... This guide may also be of assistance to the church administrator, department or board heads, and governing borads in gaining an understanding of church accounting as well as financial planning for the church." Recognizing the limitations adopted by producing a short guide (microcomputer produced using Wordstar), Mr. Ballough has done a fine job of presenting the basics of fund accounting. I found the many concepts clearly presented and easy to follow. The guide would be beneficial as either an overview of principles for one who will be reviewing the reports, or as an introduction the concepts and procedures for one who will be making the accounting entries
This is NOT a complete text on accounting. But one who has had some past exposure to non-fund accounting will have no difficulty picking up the fund accounting techniques. And Mr. Ballough comments on many topics very briefly - just enough to stimulate further study by those interested. I appreciate the emphasis on orderly presentation of the Chart of Accounts, including the provision of a numbering scheme. "Accountants... usually assign numbered accounts in a logical sequential pattern so as to quickly and readily identify the different types of accounts." And, I might add, to provide ease of computerization. As one who has had major responsibilities in non-fund accounting, as well as experience in establishing and 'doing' church accounting, I recommend this guide, noting the above comments. The guide would make a good addition to the
church library as a means of explaining the accounting system to those interested (every member, we hope). It would also serve as a guide for a programmer seeking to set up a fund accounting system and/or reports (Flow of Funds, Balance Sheet, Budget Comparison).
