Nothing ever seems to run completely smoothly. Last year’s accounts are still a work in progress, though I now finally have access to all the bank statements I need to confirm all our income and expenditure for last year, both to meet requirements of exactly what to include in the accounts, and to meet the requirements of our accounts inspector. I’ve also managed to file all the Tax returns to HMRC for last year, so this is a big weight off my shoulders.
The diaconate has discussed a preliminary budget, and that needs to be refined into a proper proposal to be presented to the church AGM. The main difference between this year’s and last year’s budget is that we’re not proposing to have to spend nearly £20,000 on building repairs and maintenance. We’ll have to spend a bit more on some bills (in particular gas bills are expected to rise again!), but if we manage to keep our weekly offerings on the same level as last year (nearly £1400 per week including special offerings) this should allow us to start to replace some of our reserves that we’ve eaten into over the last three years through doing essential building maintenance. Once we get back into the black then we can start to consider how best to invest in the kind of work we wish to support as a church, rather than spending on things we have to do just to keep going.
In a couple of months in my magazine article I’ll present the budget and give an indication of how well we’re progressing this year.
As many of you will realise I’m standing for re-election as a Deacon this year, and I’m looking forward, if re-elected, to continuing in service as Deacon and Treasurer. The learning curve for being treasurer has been steep ... and continues, particularly because regulations change all the time ... but I think, at last I’m getting close to understanding the role, and how I need to record things to make the reporting easier.
Paul Watson
