Parish Accounting and Census Software Selection

Transcription

1 Parish Accounting and Census Software Selection Seth M. Finestack Shelly R. Schwane Wipfli CPAs and Consultants Thursday, October 24, 2013 Key Points Why is this Happening Desired Results Process and Timeline People Involved Questions / Contacts 1

2 Why? Why? 2

3 Why? 2010 Archdiocese Strategic Plan 21 st century technology Standardize some operations and systems, within the decentralized structure Balanced budgets Consistent Accounting Chart of Accounts Data and Reporting Software Desired Results 1. Parish-led recommendation on best choice of standard accounting software: Identify accounting and reporting related needs of the Parishes and Schools Identify the best software vendors and solutions, that meet the Parish and School needs Evaluate the software for functionality, fit, integration, support, costs, and overall viability Recommend the best choice or choices to the Parishes, through the Archdiocese Finance Committee (AFC) 3

4 Desired Results 2. All Parishes choose to implement a standardized accounting system by the end of fiscal year Process & Timeline Evaluate Software options Convene committee Recommendation to the AFC Gather requirements 4

5 Process & Timeline Establish a Parish led decision support committee Convene committee 13 full time members from over 30 volunteers Representative of all size parishes, schools, and roles Meeting weekly via phone; monthly in person since July 30 Committee led process to prioritize needs Gather requirements Focused on parish/school accounting first Consider data integration, including Archdiocesan needs Completed Week of September 30 Process & Timeline Research and evaluate available software Evaluate Software options Communicate Initial list of over 12 options; church and non church based Focused on Cloud based (software as service) solutions Solution may include census/church management functions Through October for vendor RFI/RFP Ensure a transparent process; with input opportunities for all Audience based plan with Office of Communications Recommendation to the AFC Provide a recommendation and business case to the AFC Software vendor, product(s), support and price considerations Recommendations for implementation/timetable Target of November 21 5

6 People Archdiocesen Finance Committee Project Sponsor Tom Mertens, CFO Archdiocese Project Leadership Executive Advisory Group Project Steering Committee Project Manager Archdiocesan-led Parish-led or shared leadership People: Project Leadership Team Member Archdiocese Role or Department Tom Mertens Chief Financial Officer Cathy Cornell Office of Catholic Schools Peggy Farah Controller Mary Jo Jungwirth Director of Parish Operations Michael Rubio IT Services Renee Sherman Catholic Finance Corporation Tom Skiba Archdiocesan Finance Council 6

7 People: Steering Committee Team Member Parish or School Laura Barr Nativity of our Lord, St. Paul Randy Bauer St. Joseph the Worker, Maple Grove Cheri Dixon St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul Park Tim Dornfeld Risen Christ School Erin Ethier Transfiguration, Oakdale Jon Jakoblich St. Jude of the Lake, Mahtomedi Dale Jensen Delano Catholic Community Mary Kennedy Pax Christi, Eden Prairie Mary Kloos St. Peter's, Forest Lake Debbie Krautbauer Cathedral of Saint Paul Ginny Metzger St. Raphael's Chrystal Pam Schmitt St. Joseph, New Hope Anne Sweet All Saints, Lakeville People: Executive Advisory Team Member Parish or Archdiocese Role Erwin Templin St. Joan of Arc, Minneapolis Robert Durham Our Lady of Grace, Edina Farrell Dennis Guardian Angels, Oakdale 7

8 Non-Negotiable Requirements Area of Consideration Design and Architecture Non Negotiable Parish Software Requirements as Identified by Software Selection Committee Suitable for Parishes of all sizes: small (<300 families), through very large (<5000) Offers user defined data fields for census, sacraments, and financial accounting Includes the ability to import to and export from Microsoft Excel Provides to each Parish: ownership of data and ready access to data Includes automated workflow capabilities Offers custom views Navigation and Ease of Use Supports Windows and Apple 24 hour support and assistance with a quick turn around time; includes native help tab Effective, audience tailored training options, including live and on demand User/parishioner facing content and field names are English/natural human language Data entry procedures are intuitive and simple to learn and understand Includes workflow for common procedures and tasks, within and between modules Includes customizable, user friendly reporting functionality for census and accounting Includes packed reports that meet basic financial reporting needs Non-Negotiable Requirements Area of Consideration Census/ Parishioner Relationship Management Accounting Budgeting and Reporting Non Negotiable Parish Software Requirements as Identified by Software Selection Committee Includes communication preferences for parishioners/members Provides the ability to record, track and report on sacraments, lifecycle events, volunteer activities, demographics and other parish related activities Includes attachments ( ) and document retention capabilities Includes event registration and integrated (A/R) payment functionality Designed and organized around Fund accounting; based on accrual accounting methods vs. cash events Includes a flexible, tiered Chart of Accounts/GL format Includes automatic balancing/reversals for Funds The month and year end close process is adaptable Includes a fully integrated accounts receivable (A/R) module Includes a fully integrated accounts payable (A/P) module Enables the grouping of parishioners in many ways (family, envelop #, etc.) Includes fixed asset tracking and accounting capabilities Provides customizable reports and dashboard functionality Provides predefined (best practice/gaap) financial and accounting reports Includes budgeting capabilities with defined access levels Includes customizable mail and templates (for external reports) 8

9 Vendors Responding to RFIs Parish Data Systems ParishSOFT Intacct Accounting with Orange Leap Aplos Accounting with ParishSupport Others being researched: Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) CathoNet (Right Networks) Questions & Contacts Questions and comments Please contact us: Or contact us, a committee member or leadership team member. Seth Finestack sfinestack@wipfli.com Shelly Schwane sschwane@wipfli.com 9