Job Description of a Church Comptroller
Even though they are generally nonprofit organizations, churches receive donations that serve as income and must pay expenses like utility bills and payroll. Comptrollers have the responsibility of overseeing all of the financial aspects of a church.
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Function
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Church comptrollers reconcile bank accounts, keep track of any investments the church has and prepare financial statements that show how much money was brought in and what was paid out.
Supervision
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Depending on the denomination or structure of the church, comptrollers generally work under the supervision of governing boards, pastors or elected officers of a church. Together, the comptroller and the leaders of a church make determinations about finances, such as how to invest excess funds.
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Skills
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Successful church comptrollers possess the ability to interpret financial reports, knowledge of accounting and mathematics, attentiveness to detail and the ability to communicate clearly, orally and in writing, about complicated financial matters. Knowledge of accounting, spreadsheet and word-processing software is generally an additional requirement.
Education
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Most churches require a comptroller to have a bachelor's degree in accounting. Some prefer to hire state-licensed Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), individuals who have accounting degrees and then pass a four-part, written national examination known as the Uniform CPA Examination.
Compensation
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As of January 2010, church comptrollers averaged annual salaries of $88,000, according to Indeed.com.
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