INTRODUCTION
Exodus 18:17-22 KJV
Accounting and administration are both vital aspects of organisation operations. They support and reinforce each other. Accounting provides information that steers administrators toward cutting costs in order to make the organization more profitable, and administration provides accounting with the policies and software that it needs to track organisation operations. Accounting has a more limited scope than administration, dealing only with numbers rather than with people, products and systems.
Finance: management of money or Fund Management: i.e money to support enterprise, money held by organization etc.
Accounts: A record of money spent and received, also a credit arrangement with a bank or firm.
Finance and account are closely related. The two words are mostly used interchangeably. Thus: Finance is management of money, while Account is statement of money paid or owed for goods and services.
Accountant is therefore someone who maintains and audits account of an organization.
His role :
- Examine statements to ensure accuracy
- Ensure that statements and records comply with laws and regulations
- Compute taxes owed, prepare tax returns, ensure prompt payment
- Inspect account books and accounting systems to keep up to date
- Organize and maintain financial records
- Improve businesses efficiency where money is concerned
- Make best-practices recommendations to management
- Suggest ways to reduce costs, enhance revenues and improve profits
- Provide auditing services for businesses and individuals
An Administrative Officer is someone who manages government agencies or department.
Administration is defined as a method of tending or managing the affairs of some group of people (especially the group’s business affairs).
The role of an administrator is to plan, organize, and control the overall duties of an organization.
The responsibilities of an Administrator include:
- Implementing policies and procedures
- Oversee day-to-day operations in business
- Develop strategies for improving processes
- Assessing employee performance
- Relating to customers
- Negotiating contracts and deals
- Maintaining professionalism in the work place
- Mediating staff issues
- Interviewing and hiring staff
- Being a role model
- Motivating colleagues
- Improving goods and services
- Implement and train on best leadership practices
- Networking with industry peers, competitors and prospective clients
- Promoting and marketing the business
- Minimizing expenditure
- Managing budgets
- Attending business meetings, events, and industry functions
In line with the policy and system of RCCG, Administrative Officer can be seen as someone who ensure compliance to the Condition of Service, Mission Statement and Core Values of the Mission, as laid down by the authorities of the Mission, and are adhered to by Staff, Ministers and members.
In General.
They are principally involve and responsible for the management of human resources and personnel matters.
Overlap of functions
Although administration and accounting have different focuses, effective administration draws on the insights and information that accounting provides. By tracking expenditures on rent, labor, advertising and payroll, and comparing expenditures with revenue, the accounting department provides the organisation’s administrative department with the information it needs to determine whether the organisation is performing. If revenue is insufficient or if expenses are too high, administration can use these figures to make adjustments and steer the organisation toward more sustainable financial footing.
Providers of information
Both Admin and Finance are there to supply information in terms of Report that will help the management achieve their goal for the organization.
WIENER summed up the importance of information as follows:
Any organism is held together by the possession of means for the acquisition, retention and transmission of information.
It is the area of fund management that the thinking of administrative officer always differs from that of accountant. Eg.DSTV in PICP ‘or regional Pastor’s office.
MANAGEMENT is the word used to describe the process involved when persons accept responsibility for producing and selling goods and services. Sometimes management is described as the act of controlling people.
.However I will describe management as those who manages the resources of organization in line with the policy and objective, to achieve the desired goal.
BOTH MANAGEMENT AND ADMIN SHOULD HAVE BASIC FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING KNOWLEDGE.
E.G THAT.
– Every accounting transaction must have two sides known as Debit and credit (Double Entry-Giver and Receiver) every natural man has 2 hands, left and right.
– Every transaction to be recorded should be measured in monetary terms (Money measurement) E.g. Gift or donation of chair, equipment.
– Every expenses incurred in a period should be charged against the income of that period (Matching and Accrual).
– You don’t spend what you do not have except if you have obtained loan or overdraft.
(Approval without cash backing.)
– You must have a future plan (budget) of what ought to be done.
– Every transaction must be adequately recorded (Documentation or source Document) There must be no verbal or collection of cash without record.
SOME TERMINOLOGIES IN RCCG DEPARTMENT AND CHURCH
– You must have knowledge about the church policy and financial guideline application to either the workplace or church business. E.g. C.O.S
– In terms of application of accounting terminologies, you must be aware that in church financial recordings are group and represented by code for identification and general use, etc. Liquidity, income and expenditure for all region and province assets and transfer
– The church (RCCG) have an accounting software package known as Power CHurch now upgraded to Church Master generally used for presentation of accounting information. (Software for processing of transaction or data)
– The information of tithe and attendance are retrieved from the REMITTANCE SHEET submitted by parishes on monthly basis. The information are:
Monetary, Attendance, Pastoral and Evangelistic.
MONETARY: tithe collection, Sunday love offering, Thanksgiving, CRM, Gospel fund
ATTENDANCE: Male, Female, Children, Sunday school, House fellowship
PASTORAL: Birth, Death, Marriage, Holy Ghost Baptism, Soul that were saved and Disciplinary Action taken.
EVANGELISTIC: crusade if any, indoor programs, Jesus in Market, and any other Outreach etc.
REQUIRED DISCIPLINE IN THE JUDICIOUS USE OF ACCOUNT FOR ENTRUSTED FUNDS
When a husband gives money to wife to buy ingredients for soup, he does not expect the money to be used (sold) to buy lipstick.
– Ensure that there is adequate security for the entrusted fund and every related information Safe, cheque books Title document, Legal agreement, content file.
– Ensure authorization of the use of fund.
– Ensure that the use of fund is in line with mission policy’s approval.
– Collect a detailed documentation (letter/invoice) with reference to be use of fund from time to time.
– Ensure that there is evidence of payment through the use of payment voucher.
– Every payment voucher should have supporting document in form of receipt, requisition letter etc.
ABILITY TO GENERATE REPORT
Recording of financial information is not complete if report cannot be generated for management decision-making. Such report should be able to answer some important question as thus;
I. ACCTS-Have we received more funds this period compared to other period(s).
ADMIN-Have we employed more staff than previous mission year.
II. ACCTS- Have we incurred more expenses this period than previous period and why?
ADMIN-What is the rate of our labour turnover this year and why.
III. ACCTS- Which of the expenses this period need control and why?
ADMIN-Which dept. is over staffing , which dept we should transfer some of their staff.
How do we manage the process of transfer.
IV. Both- What should we be expecting in the subsequent period if some action(s) are not taken now?
V. Both- Which department or area of responsibility is expending major part of income and is the cost giving the expected benefit?
These out of many question are what the report generated should be able to provide answer to.
Admin eg.
-RENT: They should know rent as per grade level and location and before such application is sent to the Accountant they would have told the applicant. same goes with leave request in terms of entitlement and timing.
– BURIAL ASSITANCE: it is the duty of the accountant to pay what the policy has stated for both the part timers and the National Staff. But the due process from the Admin officer is to receive the letter of request and make sure that either the burial poster or burial programme clearly indicating the person as a son or daughter of the deceased be attached.
– They should be conversant with all the allowable expenses and benefit so as to compliment the work of the accountant and being able to advise the affected staff positively.
Time management is very important to the Management. Report has to be ready at the right time in the right quality. Five minutes extra can save two hours already spent on the report.
INTER RELATIONSHIP.
ADMINISTARTIVE OFFICER
I. Document that relates to finance, which needed urgent treatment, should be made available on time to the Accountant.
II. Information on memo that affects line managers should be passed across promptly to the Accountant.
III. The Accountant should be aware of the stationeries management in the office.
IIII. The Accountant should be carried along on behalf of staff as it relate to personnel benefits and entitlement so that the purpose of being in the office to help our neighbours will not be forfeited.
V. In terms of employment; designation, grade, step and effective date of engagement should be well spelt out in the employment letter.
VI. In terms of promotion; designation, grade, step and effective date of the promotion should be clearly stated.
VII. When in doubt as to benefit, entitlement or grade level, Admin, should consult with the Account department for mutual solution.
VIII. Prompt information on resignation, termination and retirement should be communicated to the Accountant.
ACCOUNTANT
I. Every authorized financial request should be attended to promptly
II. Where immediate disbursement of fund could not be made, the administrative officer should be aware.
III. The accountant should made available fund for procurement of stationeries as approved.
IIII. There should be prompt response to memo as it relates to financial information.
V. The accountant should be able to explain convincingly to the administrative officer some area of financial implication as it might affect the workplace.
VI. When designation, grade and level are wrongly stated by the administrative officer, Accountant should make direct contact to admin for rectification but should not singularly alter.
ABILITY TO INDENTIFY AND CHECK FRAUD THROUGH INTERNAL CONTROL PROCEDURES
Administrative Controls
Internal controls are policies and procedures a business follows in its operations. Administrative controls include determining the segregation of duties among departments and employees, deciding which departments are authorized to conduct particular activities and developing independent verification systems. The latter means that the departments oversee one another’s activities, providing a system of checks and balances.
Accounting Controls
Accounting departments set different types of internal controls. These controls include policies and procedures that protect a company’s finances and financial records. Other controls determined by the accounting department provide for financial review and appraisal, in the form of auditing and evaluation of the company’s finances. Documents used for keeping financial records, such as invoices and time cards, are another control the accounting department determines.
The administrative and accounting controls when properly implemented will help to prevent fraud, safeguard assets and resources of the mission.
CONCLUSION
The two officers should know that:
I. They are to support the management by giving quality advice in their area of operation to achieve the ultimate goal.
II. They are to work as a team to the glory of God.
III. The progress and achievement of the RCCG workplace revolves round the administrative and account departments. And I pray God will give them the needed grace to carry it out with loyalty, dedication and commitment continually in Jesus name.
Being a paper delivered by Pastor Joseph Obayemi , the Special Assistant to General Overseer during the RCCG 12th Accountants’ Conference held at the Redemption Camp.