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To: Pastors, Principals, Administrators, Business Managers and Bookkeepers
From: Michael Warren, Controller; Patrick Warner, Parish Accounting Manager, Office of Finance
Please see below for a few reminders before closing the 2016-2017 fiscal year in ConnectNow:
Cash – Deposits in Transit
Before closing year-end, please make sure there is a zero balance in account 1070, Cash – Deposits in Transit. Please clear any balance in the account before closing the fiscal year. This account must be zero before closing.
Outstanding Checks and Deposits
Please clear any outstanding checks or deposits from bank reconciliation that are over 60-90 days old.
Loans
If the parish/school has a loan, please be sure to reconcile the loan balance on the balance sheet to the loan balance on the June 30, 2017 D&L (Deposit and Loan) statement from the archdiocese. Please reconcile to the amount shown on the line for “Ending Principal Balance.”
Reconcile
Please reconcile all non-checking/savings account balances on the balance sheet. Please contact Patrick Warner if:
– You have remitted all the 2nd collections, but still have 2nd collection balances on the balance sheet;
– You have any tax withholding accounts (federal, FICA, state) with balances; or
– You have any other balances in the assets or liabilities (ex. petty cash, payroll deductions, mass stipends, prepaid tuition, etc.) that you cannot reconcile or identify.
Endowment Entries
Please do not close the fiscal year without recording the endowment entries through June 30th for fiscal year 2016-2017. The Catholic Foundation of North Georgia anticipates distributing the June 30th statements during the last week of July. At the end of July, the detailed instructions for recording endowment entries in ConnectNow, including how to account for the 10% of a parish’s annual appeal refund that was applied to its endowment will be distributed.
Pension Allocation for the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year
Before closing the year, please accrue the employee pension benefits for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The new monthly billing process for the pension expense beginning in July 2018 is for the new fiscal year 2017-2018. You still must accrue the pension expense for fiscal year 2016-2017 as of June 30, 2017, since the archdiocese will bill the parish in October 2017 for the prior year. To calculate the expense, multiply the gross pay of only those employees eligible for pension by six percent (6%).
To accrue these pension expenses, record a journal entry dated 06/30/2017. You will debit the various retirement accounts and credit the Accrued Lay Retirement account.
Example:
DEBIT
5060.003 Benefits – Retirement (Religious Ed.) $1,000.00
5060.007 Benefits – Retirement (Admin & General) $2,000.00
CREDIT
2070 Accrued Lay Retirement $3,000.00
When you pay the invoice to the archdiocese for the pension, on the “Bills” screen, use account number 2070 in the G/L account field. This will remove the liability from the balance sheet.
Old Pension Accrual
If there is still a balance in GL 2070 from Fiscal Year 2015-2016 pension accrual, please contact Patrick Warner for assistance in removing the balance before posting the pension entry for Fiscal Year 2016-2017.
Archdiocesan Invoices
As one of the last journal entries for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the Office of Finance requires all parishes and schools to record on the balance sheet any unpaid archdiocesan invoices (more than 60 days old) as of June 30, 2017. In ConnectNow, these unpaid invoices will be recorded as journal entries. You will debit the appropriate expense – assessment, annual appeal shortfall, employee benefits, etc. – and credit the balance sheet account 2990 as due to archdiocese (we may need to add this GL number to your chart of accounts). Please date the journal entry as June 30, 2017.
Please review the attachment for instructions on closing the Fiscal Year in ConnectNow. For questions or additional information, please contact Patrick Warner at pwarner@archatl.com or 404-920-7410.