Retention of Financial Records
You may have a financial management database that handles all your accounting transactions. Retention of financial records refers to hard copy documents.
Detailed guidelines for the congregation’s treasurer and financial secretary are found in the Congregational Treasurers and Bookkeepers’ Financial and Accounting Guide.
| Description of Records | Care of Records | Final Disposition |
|---|---|---|
| Annual audit reports Treasurer's annual report to the congregation Budget approved by the congregation Bequests and endowments | Preserve permanent records in hard copy. The audit report, treasurer's annual report, and the annual budget approved by the congregation should be part of the minutes of the congregation's annual meeting. | Place in the congregation's archives |
| Investments in asset management Canceled checks, copies or originals Bank reconciliations Payroll administration records, such as W-2, W-4 forms and payroll registers Cash receipt journals Record of member giving | The IRS mandates that you preserve these records for four years. For administrative purposes, you may wish to keep these records for seven years. All records related to congregational spending are open. All records related to member giving are confidential and should be secured. | Whether maintained as paper or electronic files, destroy these records at the end of the retention period. |
| General invoices | For insurance purposes, you may wish to retain receipts or canceled checks for major purposes as evidence of ownership. | Shred after three years. |
| Offering envelopes | Do not retain | Destroy after counting and entering the data |