Our team, working with different religious entities, knows well how critical the processing of accounting data for the Congregations is, but also how important it is in order to correctly represent the same transactions in different countries, with different currencies, but with shared criteria, in order to ensure a homogeneous approach to each event. The accounting plan becomes the common language for the accounting representation of similar events that occur in different branches of the Congregation. The harmonization of accounting standards, which obviously takes in due account the peculiarities of each country, is a necessary step to achieve this objective.

In order to achieve this result, it is essential to create a plan of accounts that is tailored to the needs of the institution and in line with the accounting principles of the countries where it is based.

In particular, a specific Focus must be dedicated to:
• the analysis of accounts such as DONATIONS, GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIP, BEQUESTS, to separately monitor the resources received from external donors/sponsors;

• the identification of the most suitable solutions for the correct recording of transfers that take place between the different branches of the same Congregation, avoiding, at a consolidated level, the duplication of costs and revenues and highlighting any economic support that the Congregation provides to the individual entities that compose it.

OverEagles can support religious congregations in the choice of an Accounting Software to identify the most suitable solutions that allow the insertion, management and monitoring of accounting data.

Priority shall be given to identifying instruments which:
• allow entries in different currencies while maintaining a uniform accounting policy;
• provide complete data security on certified server platforms;
• allow the use of data in the cloud, with the convenience of use in any location and on different types of devices.

The implementation of the Admnistration Manual for a religious structure is a good practice to correctly define your internal accounting and administrative procedures.

The administrative manual is composed by various sections and includes all the areas of the financial, accounting and administrative functions of the Religious Body:
• Organogram and definition of the roles of the resources of the Central and Provincial offices, identifying lines of internal coordination between the structures, as well as responsibilities and tasks of each;

• General definition of coordination activities, of the documents to be prepared and their management. Explanation of how to use the chart of accounts by creating codes and notes for each item on the balance sheet and profit and loss account;

• Definition and explanation of the Budget procedure, of the internal control and verification procedures, with a clear identification of the timing and of the document models to be used for the various annual deadlines and possibly extra templates for financial or Real Estate reports.

An efficient organization is capable of a better risk control and creates the conditions for increasingly reliable financial statements. OverEagles provides specialized consulting services to support the processes of budget construction and analysis of results:

• assistance for the implementation of the budget process as a starting tool through which religious bodies are put in a position to have a perspective on their future development. A correct approach to this activity is necessary in order to direct the behavior of the Religious Institution during the periods of the project. To obtain satisfactory results, it is important that the budget is drawn up with valid criteria and with the active involvement of the members of the religious institution itself.

• Improvement of the management/accounting structure in order to have more accurate and reliable data, comparable during the year with budget estimates. This will allow to have a reporting organization aimed at the analysis of the current management trend, a continuous monitoring of the investment projects, the control of expenses both at a central and local level, in order to provide a correct overview of the religious institution at the service of the decision making process.

• Preparation of specific evaluations to report on individual projects and provide donors/sponsors with all the necessary data related to the implementation of the projects itself.

Overeagles has also developed the skills to offer the design and implementation of specific Internal Audit processes for Religious Bodies: creation of compliance audit services to determine the compliance of activities and internal processes with the current legislation, operational procedures (such as treasury & payments), regulations and codes of conduct, identification of risks and weaknesses of the internal control system.

In order to make strategic decisions, the Leadership Team needs an overall economic and financial overview of the Congregation. The process of aggregation and consolidation of the results of the various entities, which are part of the same structure, allow a united view of the whole which is of great support in directing mission choices and investments.

OverEagleas’ consultants support the Congregations during the consolidation process. To achieve this objective, they prepare, if necessary, a plan of the consolidated accounts and are able to select a suitable consolidation software, in order to make the management more accurate and automated, reducing the risk of error associated with the manual steps that the administrative resources often use in these realities.

Very often the realities of the Congregations have within themselves an articulated scheme, with branches and missions based in different countries and operating with different currencies.

Our mission is to find solutions to harmonize complex realities, simplify processes, set up an accurate accounting framework, creating added value to support the consolidation of our customers’ numbers.