Complete 2012 Journal - 2012 NC Conference Journal

222 The North Carolina Annual Conference – 2012 Journal
All advance payments shall be included in W-2 information provided to the local church by
the Conference treasurer for inclusion on the W-2.
5. No additional claim can be made against a local church, district or the Conference for
payment of moving expenses.
6. Reimbursable expenses include the cost of boarding and moving domestic animals, the
moving of recreational vehicles, moving household and personal goods, travel as defined in
B.2., lodging, packing, crating, in-transit storage and insurance, labor costs, and any other
expense necessary to physically move household items. Expenses which are not reimbursable
include meals, purchase of household items, or any other item not reasonable or necessary for
the move.
7. The request for moving expense reimbursement must be received in the Treasurer’s Office no
late than four months following the date of the move.
8. Reimbursement will be considered a qualified, non-taxable fringe benefit not subject to
income and self-employment tax when:
• Your move is 50 or more miles from the old appointment to the new appointment and
• Your new appointment is full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months at
the new location.
If your new appointment does not meet the above conditions, then the reimbursement will
be reported as taxable for both income and employment tax. However, if your reimbursement
is treated as table income, an additional stipend in the amount of 20% of the taxable income
portion will be provided. The maximum stipend will be no more than 20% of the applicable
limit stated in section B.1.
C. Review Committee
1. There will be a Review Committee consisting of two persons appointed by the chairperson
of the Council on Finance and Administration, one district superintendent appointed by the
Bishop, the Conference Treasurer, the director of Ministerial Relations and the chair of the
Moving Expense Committee.
2. The Review Committee will consider and have final authority over any questionable or
disallowed claim or special claim beyond allowances set in the approved plan.
V. Local Church Finance Minimum Standards
Serving as a financial officer or in a financially related position within a local church requires that we
serve with fiduciary responsibility over the financial matters of the church. This fiduciary responsibility
means that we stand in service to perform our duties with the trust and confidence that we act for
the benefit of the church and not for the benefit or convenience of ourselves. As we serve with these
responsibilities in local churches, we are guided to provide the most effective and most efficient ways to
safeguard the assets entrusted to our care. One of the ways we safeguard the assets is to put procedures
in place that have been proven to minimize risks by preventing and detecting error, deterring fraud
and protecting innocent staff and volunteers. The following guidelines have been developed in order
to assist those with financial responsibilities in local churches to identify and implement basic internal
control procedures. These guidelines are intended to aid in the prevention or deterrence of fraudulent
behavior and are not accusations that fraudulent activities are being performed. These guidelines
provide protection for those in a position of controlling financial activity from being accused of
fraud. Part of the fulfillment of our calling to be good stewards of the Lord’s funds is having effective
procedures in place to safeguard those funds. These minimum standards should be increased for
churches with higher volumes of transactions but should not be compromised for lower volumes of
transactions. All local churches are expected to meet these minimum standards.
A. Receipts and Disbursements
1. Treasurer and Financial Secretary should not be the same person and should not be in the
same immediate family residing in the same household