Warning to Presiding Overseers!

by ozziepost 11 Replies latest jw friends

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  ozziepost

  The February issue of Kingdom Ministry in Britain issues a warning to Presiding Overseers that they must stop auditing congregation accounts. It advises Presiding overseers that they are contravening the Charities Act by doing the audit. Instead service committees are now to appoint someone to do the audit.

  Strange things seem to be happening in Britain! You wouldn't catch a P.O. in the land of Oz doing the audit. In the past we've assumed it was because they were lazy but now we see that the Aussie P.O.s are actually much more law-abiding than their pommie brothers!

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress
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  roybatty

  Ah, it was always a big deal in our Hall that some besides the PO audit the books. I wonder if for the same reason as the one in the UK? I have to admit though, with the simplified accounting procedures that took polace in the early 90's, auditing the books was a piece of cake.
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  RunningMan

  Speaking as a certified accountant, it is unusual and improper for management to perform their own audit. In fact, in business, an audit performed by the company President would simply be disregarded.
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  JEMIMAH

  Interesting post Oz

  This info came out at the KMS in Dec.

  Under UK charity laws if a kingdom Hall charity turnover is more than £15,000 per annum, you have to have an independant audit from a Chartered Accountant, if like most congregations the turnover is less than that an internal audit will suffice, the new info about PO's not auditing the cong accounts is just for more transparency.

  Although JW's can be accused of many things, I have never heard of brothers being caught with their fingers in the pot.

  Enjoying the cold wintry showers in England

  Cheers

  Jem
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  roybatty

  Jerry,

  Actually here in Chicago a couple of years ago a local elder stole thousands of dollars from a congregation's building fund. We weren't wasn't given the details from the CO but he give us this information when warning us to carefully track all contributions for our own building fund.
  JWs...not above stealing.
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  RunningMan

  Actually JW's with their fingers in the pot is more common than you think.

  About a year and a half ago, I was asked to do a quick audit during the CO's visit. Apparently, at the elder's meeting, he mentioned that in his last circuit there were two cases of embezzlement. One of them was for an assembly hall, and the amount was over $20,000.

  Now, that circuit is likely not typical, but two congregations out of a circuit of 20 had theft. There are probably a lot more.
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  Jim Dee

  Theft is a part of life - in the "truth" or out

  I've been in Liverpool Cong, Bedford and now London area and in each of the congs there has been a scandal over money.

  In Liverpool it was a £280 discrepancy in the Lit room, in Bedford the Accounts servant was caught "borrowing" and "irregularities" over collection and tabulation of moneys - it was only small (£250) amounts but the principle is the same.

  The worst was my current cong where the accounts servant has kept a very tight hold over the books and "cash's up himself" - there is now a discrepancy of provable £3,900 errors (I think there is a lot more) but as he is the PO's son nothing has been done.

  Most JW's are honest, I've found its the "favoured sons" who are the worst - and they are the "untouchables"

  Jim
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  meat pie

  This happened at the cong I went to , money was stolen for quite some time and there was a big cover up. someone who shouldn't have come into contact with the contributions money was taking it, and of course most of us were thinking it must be a 'mistake' at the bank, because Jehovah's people are a clean people, and so it must be someone in the world.(!)A 'favoured son' was responsible and we never really were told what happened, just dribs and drabs of chatter. They should at least have told the cong. Result; privelidges withheld, and sharp words from the platform for the rest of us to shut up!I think this was the beginning of the end for me, I dont want to say too much more now, but I geuss it must be quite common.
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  bluesapphire

  I have a friend who put in 100 $1 dollar bills in a box in Mexico just to see what would happen because he suspected that his money was being stolen. Apparently, he earned American dollars and would put them in and frequently the total contributions for the month would total less than the amount he knew he put in. Sure enough 50 of those dollar bills were gone.

  Then suddenly the PO invited everyone over for a bar-b-cue.
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  SixofNine

  Then suddenly the PO invited everyone over for a bar-b-cue.

  Barbacoa from heaven! lol, probably the first time God has ever smiled at the way a congo's contributions have been used.