Synod Connection
Budget/Actual form, Remittances, Reporting and ELCA Fund IDs
Welcome synod treasurers, administrators and bookkeepers!
This information is for your use in meeting your responsibilities for financial reporting and remittance of funds to the ELCA Office of the Treasurer.
There are three primary financial communications with the churchwide office:
Synodical Budget/Actual Form
Synod Monthly Remittances
Financial Reporting—Audited Financial Statements
Completion and Submission of the Synodical Budget/Actual Form
Synods are asked to submit their annual operating budgets and their year-end results to the ELCA Office of the Treasurer. The Synodical Budget/Actual Form provides the data in a consistent format so that trends in synod revenue and expenses can be accurately and fairly compared and analyzed. Use of this form is also recommended by the Blue Ribbon Committee approved at the 2007 Churchwide Assembly and endorsed by the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
Submission of Synod Monthly RemittancesInstructions, forms land tools are provided to help you use your synod software to submit the monthly synod remittance (SR-1) to the Office of the Treasurer.
Financial Reporting Requirements Synods are required to provide the office of the Treasurer their audited financial statements on an annual basis. Please mail them to the address below:
Mailing Address
ELCA Office of the Treasurer
Attn: ELCA Controller
8765 West Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60631
ELCA Fund IDs A quick way to denote a synod's monthly gift is by using the ELCA Fund ID.
The following documents are provided as resources for the ELCA synods.
Synod Guidlines: Internal Controls Best Practices
In order to exercise good stewardship and care of the resources entrusted to it, the synod should establish and maintain good internal control and accounting policies. This document describes major financial activities and related best practices in order to assist the synod in establishing its own system.
Synod Audit Committee CharterA model Audit Committee Charter that can be used by synods which are in the process of establishing formal Audit Committees.
Sample Synod Treasurer Position DescriptionSynods may incorporate the use of this position description when filling or defining the roles of their treasurer position.
Data SecurityA growing concern in our society is the issue of data security. We as entities that collect, store, and communicate information have a responsibility to those that provide us their information/data to keep it safe and secure. This helpful set of simply slides provide an explanation of PII (Personal Identity Information) and how to keep data secure at many levels.
Financial Contingency Planning This document describes key components of contingency planning to assist synods to prepare for variability in income and expenses.