Assessment of Accountaibility Mechanisms in the Church. Comparing the Traditional or Orthodox and the one Man Churches

ASSESSMENT OF ACCOUNTAIBILITY MECHANISMS IN THE CHURCH. COMPARING THE TRADITIONAL OR ORTHODOX AND THE ONE MAN CHURCHES

1.0   Introduction

1.1   Background of the study

Religious organizations in Ghana have contributed significantly towards the country’s development by providing social amenities like hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, apart from seeking the spiritual welfare of their members. These organizations have a lot of financial resources which have been entrusted to them, which are used to provide social services to communities where they operate. Despite the availability of these resources, there is always lack of funds for the church to carry out its missionary work due to poor or lack of proper internal control systems. The success of any organization is not necessarily how much money comes into it but how well the organization manages the funds. The efficient use of these financial resources that accrue to an organization promotes and sustains its growth. It is therefore very essential to manage financial resources of the church effectively and efficiently to derive maximum benefits for the members of the church and society as a whole. The inability of the church to provide social services due to inefficient management of funds will negatively affect society as a whole. Several recent high profile cases of financial mismanagement in religious organizations have highlighted the need for all religious non-for-profit organizations (NFPOs) to have strong internal control systems.

Because of this belief, many churches do not see the need for internal controls in their organizations. However, Colossians 3:23–24 admonish believers that in “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”. Financial management of not-for-profit organizations is similar to financial management in the for-profit management organizations in many respects; however, certain key differences shift the focus of a not-for-profit financial manager. A profit making enterprise focuses on profitability and maximizing shareholder value. A not-for-profit organization’s primary goal is not to increase shareholder value; rather, it is to provide some socially desirable need on an ongoing basis. A not-for-profit organization generally lacks the financial flexibility of a commercial enterprise because it depends on resource providers that are not engaged in an exchange transaction (Blackbaud, 2015). These organizations are also often small, relying on a great deal of volunteer support, and as a result may not have the professional oversight to adequately monitor the resources of the organization or the behaviour of its leaders. After studying the practices of the Catholic Church, Rev. Beal and Cusack (2008) said that the ability of Catholic dioceses, parishes and NFPOs to raise the revenues necessary to support the ministry programs through which they carry out their mission depends upon public confidence and public support. Public confidence can be won if there is proper accountability and good internal control procedures in place. Despite all the financial resources of the church, members always complain about lack of funds for the church to carry out its missionary/social services work. This is evidenced by many uncompleted projects spread around the various dioceses. This motivated the researcher to investigate into how the church manages its funds so that suitable financial management practices could be recommended.

1.3   Statement of the Problem

Based on a global perspective, economic and social development is driven by accountability in all forms. Thus, accountability is an important and key essence to maintaining and creating community wealth. The development of a country in noticeably driven by accountability. The reality faced by every nation in the21st century is the destruction of human and material resources due to the lack of accountability in the management of these resources. This is evident in the society’s limited knowledge on resource and material accountability. The public does not fully understand the resources possessed by this nation, Indonesia. Therefore, accountability becomes an important element in societal, political, social, and economic development. The concept of accountability has been developing from a narrow view to a broader view, from a conceptual level to a practical level. In the field of accounting, financial accountability is the broad concepts integrated in effective and efficient use of financial resources in each activity. According to Jones (2015), in the UK, if the taxes paid by citizens on income from investments is not being used effectively and efficiently, the shareholders may out as firm owners. This illustrates that accountability must be placed properly. Moreover, accountability can improve the social welfare of the people, but the potential infra structure (systems, standards, professional bodies, rules, and legal frame work to support the accounting practices) is often thwarted by a variety of challenges in its implementation in developing countries. The challenge is the lack of qualified accounting personnel in both governmental and private sectors (Emenyonu, 2007). In the private sector, the already limited number of accounting personals clearly becoming increasingly rare when compared with the number of accounting graduates. A large number of Indonesian students majoring in accounting choose to be employees instead of accounting professionals. Similarly, in non-profit organizations (specifically the Church) this scarcity also occurs. Most accounting personnel are not accounting degree holders but rather majored in economics, management, or even outside these three fields. This scarcity concerns the accounting world, in which fewer and fewer people are interested in accounting for nonprofit organizations. The first reason is the concept of an accountant at nonprofit organization that appears insignificant. Second, there is a view that social work does not require professional accountants. Third, attributing accountability directly to God, so this sector does not require a system that is in synchronized. Based on the above mentioned background, this study discusses financial accountability and accounting infrastructure in churches in Ghana. The goal is to know the various forms of accountability that arise and the different types of infrastructure owned by the churches. This research is expected to contribute to the deepening of an understanding that the Church also need to have good accounting infrastructure. The goal is to improve the welfare of the community through the church, in which the Church is the spearhead and the birthplace of modern accounting.

1.4   Research Objectives

• To determine accountability practices within the traditional and orthodox churches in Ghana.
• To assess the internal controls systems within the traditional and orthodox churches in terms of the disbursement of funds.
• To examine the budgeting and budgetary control systems in traditional and orthodox churches.

1.5   Research Questions

• What are the accountability practices within the traditional and orthodox churches in Ghana?
• Does the traditional and orthodox churches in Ghana have adequate internal controls systems on the disbursement of funds?
•  Does the traditional and orthodox churches in Ghana have adequate budgeting and budgetary control systems in place?

1.6   Significance of the study

This study is worth. The researcher believes that, this study will be of much value to a number of people. It will offer the following significances; the study will help the public in widening knowledge of financial information and the role it plays in investment decision making, it will also make the public to appreciate the importance of sound  financial  reports  in  the provision  of information  necessary  for decision making. The study will point out the financial information weaknesses to be considered when using them for decision making as a base. These Organizations will be aware of what to consider when making an investment decision. Also it will be able to present important information for investors to make analysis.