For churches & ministries
Thoughtful preparation.
Room to focus on ministry.
Financial reporting can involve pastors, administrators, volunteers, and a finance committee. A clear starting point helps everyone understand what comes next.
Your starting point
Bring the right questions to the table.
A reporting request may arrive as part of a lending conversation, a governing-body discussion, or a decision to seek an outside CPA firm. Before deciding how to respond, clarify the report being requested and the period it should cover.
Audit Assist provides educational information and a way to inquire about potential engagements through a separate CPA firm. It does not perform audits, reviews, or agreed-upon procedures engagements, and an inquiry does not establish an engagement.
You do not need to have every record organized before making an inquiry. An honest account of your timing and current recordkeeping is a useful beginning.
Three conversations worth having
People. Records. Timing.
Who will coordinate?
Identify a primary contact and who can help with bookkeeping, giving records, payroll, and committee questions. One point of contact can help keep requests organized.
Where does the information live?
Take stock of accounting software, bank accounts, contribution systems, and records held by individual ministries. Note what is complete and what still needs attention.
What date are you working toward?
Distinguish the final reporting deadline from a finance-committee meeting, lender discussion, or other decision date. Share both when making your inquiry.
Agreed-upon procedures
When the question is more specific.
An agreed-upon procedures (AUP) engagement involves a CPA performing specified procedures and reporting the resulting findings. It does not provide an audit opinion or a review conclusion. The intended users consider the findings themselves.
For a church, a discussion might begin with selected disbursements, cash-handling records, or a particular schedule requested by a lender or governing body. These are possible topics to explore, not a standard package of services.
Bring the request into focus
- What specific matter should the procedures address?
- Who will use the findings?
- Which period and records are involved?
- Has the intended recipient specified procedures or a report?
An AUP is not a substitute for a required audit or review. The prospective CPA firm must evaluate suitability, agree the procedures and terms, and accept the engagement.
Ask about agreed-upon proceduresA practical principle
Start with what you know.
Be clear about what you still need to find.
You can have a useful first conversation without presenting a finished set of records.
Prepare with purpose
A starting point for
your finance committee.
This guide offers a way to organize the conversation across staff and volunteers.
Read the church records guideIs a church automatically required to have an audit?
This website does not make that determination. Requirements can depend on the organization and the specific request. Obtain the wording from the lender, governing body, or other party and discuss it with the prospective firm.
What if volunteers keep some of our records?
Mention that in your inquiry. Identify who maintains each set of records and which systems are used. The prospective firm would determine the information needed for its work.
Should we send giving records with our inquiry?
No. Start with basic organizational and contact information only. Confidential giving, payroll, banking, or personnel records should be handled through a secure process agreed with the engaged firm.
Start here
Let’s begin with your church’s situation.
Share the purpose of the request, your timing, and who is coordinating the conversation.
Free PDF · Nonprofits & churches
A reporting deadline.
A place to start.
Get our three-page Audit Planning Guide, including a milestone checklist and a printable reporting calendar for your team.
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