Sharing the Contents of a Pretty Good Monthly Report for the Board of Elders

I've recently had several conversations with church leaders about monthly financial and overall performance reporting. When I served as an executive pastor, each month, I prepared a "Leadership Team Monthly Report." I'm sharing the report's contents and other thoughts on reporting in today's post.

In previous posts, I've written about KPMs (Key Performance Measures) and the importance of measuring results. Needless to say, the monthly report included monthly performance data in a graphical format.

Here's an outline of what the report contained, all as of the last day of the prior month (unless otherwise stated below):

• Cover Sheet - Report Title and Date

• Balance Sheet

• Income Statement (Budget vs. Actual Comparisons)

• A/P (Accounts Payable) Aging Summary (As Of Both The Last Day Of The Previous Month And The Date Of The Report)

• Stat Sheet (As Of The Previous Weekend)

• Key Performance Measures (KPMs)

The report was due the second Friday of every month and was presented as a PDF file, delivered to the Leadership Team via e-mail.

Depending on your situation, you may also be required to submit monthly (or annual) reports to a mortgage company or similar organization.

The key to monthly reporting is to include the needed (or requested) information without throwing other stuff in there. Some years ago, during an ISO Audit, I remember being told that "when the title of the book is asked for, don't tell the whole story."