Skip to content

Religious

scroll down icon

Industries | Religious

Guiding Churches & Religious Organizations on a Path to Financial Accountability

At Wegner CPAs, we understand that churches and religious organizations are unique and require specialized professional services. We are committed to providing these services to faith-based organizations and have an expert staff in place to do so. Wegner understands that being above reproach in its financial systems and reporting should be important to all places of worship and religious organizations.

Wegner CPAs provides services to over 75 faith-based congregations and para-church organizations including Catholic, EFCA, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Jewish, Unitarian, Baptist, Methodist, and nondenominational.

contact us

Assurance & Consulting Services

Financial information is tested and verified to provide the highest level of assurance. An audit results in a report that includes an opinion on the financial statements. An audit also involves an examination of the client’s internal controls and recommendations for improvements in controls.

more information

Financial information is analyzed through inquiry and analytical procedures. A review results in a report that provides more limited assurance of the financial statements than an audit.

more information

Financial data is assembled into a report with no assurance of its validity.

more information

Some accounting systems need to be updated before a clean audit can be performed. In cases like these a phased in approach over a few years is the best type of service. A consulting engagement in year one would review the current accounting system and controls and provide a report with recommendations and action plan. An accounting policies and procedures manual would be prepared and staff would be trained on its implementation. In year two, agreed upon procedures would be performed, with specific testing that is agreed to by both parties to see if new policies have been implemented. Assist with converting the financial records to GAAP basis in preparation for a full financial audit. In year three, a full financial audit would be performed.  This phased in approach can be personalized for each client’s needs.

Our engagement would be designed to review all significant accounting systems important to churches, parishes and faith-based organizations. This consists of interviews with key staff, review of documents and observation of controls. At the conclusion of our engagement we will provide you with a report that gives you a number of recommendations and an action plan to improve internal controls, accounting systems, accounting software and reporting.

  • Fraud testing
  • Develop and review accounting policies and procedures manual
  • Review cash handling procedures
  • Develop internal audit procedures manual
  • Balance Sheet reconciliation
  • Accounting software implementation
  • Review gift acceptance, investment, designated fund and reserve policies
  • Review compliance issues with legal and tax regulator bodies, i.e. unemployment, sales tax, housing allowance, and Unrelated Trade and Business Income
  • Generally Accepted Accounting Principles compliance
  • Board governance and training
  • Payroll outsourcing
  • Clergy tax preparation
  • 990 preparation

From Our Clients

“It was a breath of fresh air to receive critical feedback and to help us as a Church ask these questions: Why do we do the things that we do? And how can we do them more efficiently? The associate that worked with us was professional, understanding of church dynamics/polity and made herself available to us during this process so that we could receive answers to our questions. She returned to go over the review with the entire Church Council and those interviewed for the internal review. This will bear fruits in many ways for us as a Church. This process has initiated much needed conversation around staff positions, procedures, and current policies. It has been extremely helpful for us and I would highly recommend this process and the capable caring team at Wegner for any church in a similar situation.”
Rev. James Hearne
Barneveld Lutheran Church
“I thought it would be really valuable to have some consulting work done, so I had Wegner CPAs come out for a day. What I thought was really valuable was the specialization they had. If we would have called anyone else I don’t think they would have been able to give us such valuable insight. We’re a church and they do so much work with churches, and they seem to have a spiritual foundation to their own organization that connects with us.”
David Wiley
Alliance Bible Church
“Wegner CPAs has proven to be an invaluable resource to our non-profit organization by managing our annual audit and providing excellent input on effective financial operations. The staff at Wegner are knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to work with.”
Rev. Mark Elsdon
Campus Pastor/Executive Director Pres House – UW Madison
“The CPA that worked with us made herself available to us throughout the entire process so that we could always get timely answers and guidance as we implemented suggestions. Rather than being a stressful event, the audit itself was fairly routine given all the guidance we had received in the months leading up to the audit. As I reflect back on the process I am convinced that the phased-approach was the most appropriate for our situation. With significant time and coaching during the preparation phases, we were well-positioned for a successful audit. I would recommend this process and the capable team at Wegner for any church in a similar situation.”
Kevin Swanson
Metro Community Church

Talk with an Expert

Implementing strong internal controls to safeguard your assets.

start here

View All Services

Going far beyond the standard accounting and tax services, our CPAs specialize in several industry areas and are in tune with the opportunities and challenges faced by each.

learn more

Resources

We are committed to providing you with the tools you need to make sound decisions every day. Check out our extensive mix of educational resources, and please contact us should you need any help finding the answers to your questions.

read more