Over the past few years especially, reports of financial scandals within the Catholic Church have flooded the media and prompted
new recommendations from church governing bodies. A widely publicized 2006 survey by researchers at Villanova University found
that 85 percent of Roman Catholic dioceses that responded had discovered embezzlement of church money in the last five years, with
11 percent reporting that more than $500,000 had been stolen.

The USCCB Accounting Practices Committee (APC) concluded that “the vast majority of the aforementioned frauds appear to be occurring at the parish level. At the APC meeting in January 2007, this topic was thoroughly studied and several recommendations were made to enhance the financial governance in the 19,000+ parishes.”  The group’s Accounting Report recommended the use of
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standard financial presentation.

Previously in 1995, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) created the Diocesan Internal Controls, making the Bishop
effectively responsible for the entire diocese. The forward stated that “all administrators are to perform their duties with the diligence of a good householder. The bishop can delegate the authority but not the responsibility. He has the duty to ensure that no abuses exist in the administration of church goods within the diocese.”

The Villanova study suggested that whether an organization is a Fortune 500 company or a diocese, the objectives of the internal control structure remain the same (2):
1. Provide reliable financial statements and accounting records
2. Safeguard the entity’s assets
3. Promote operational efficiency and effectiveness
4. Promote adherence to the mission of the Church or organization

Check back next week as we discuss the requirements of a financial management system.

Access the “Achieving Financial Transparency for Dioceses” FREE whitepaper.

For all organizations in the nonprofit sector, financial transparency is synonymous with survival. Dependence on donors necessitates an ongoing demonstration of where money is spent and how funded activities and programs fulfill defined mission statements. While Catholic dioceses are not required by law to be transparent and accountable, there is a definite shift towards the production of financial reports that provide a complete picture of the financial health of the entire diocese from the bishop’s and archbishop’s office down to the parishioner donor level.

Recent events have emphasized the importance of financial transparency. From embezzled funds to extortion, indictments have been handed down within the Catholic Church and a strong case has been built for not only increased scrutiny, but for better safeguarding of a diocese’s assets.

Like any nonprofit group that constantly works to do more with less money and resources, it can be a daunting challenge for dioceses to provide a more holistic financial view of multiple, complex layers of the organizations in their areas of service. From schools and parishes to cemeteries, there exists a strong need for the chancery office to help each operating center succeed without adding a huge burden to its own management responsibilities.

Challenges at the organizational level include Catholic schools facing increased operational costs and a market in which many families cannot afford the expense of private schools. Nonprofits, in general, today are faced with declining donations in an uncertain economy.

Check back next week as we discuss the increased need for financial controls.

Access the “Achieving Financial Transparency for Dioceses” FREE whitepaper.

I’ve been working with Medair for the last couple of months on the requirements gathering, planning, and remote training sessions so we can implement Serenic AwardVision (nonprofit grants management) and Serenic Fixed Assets.  Both are replacing manual processes and providing the NGO with streamlined reporting.

Medair was previously tracking grants in Microsoft Excel or Word documents and entering them as funds into Serenic Navigator.  This process has been a bit challenging for the finance department and the grant writers with respect to reporting and tracking the status of the grants, etc.  In addition to the challenges with reporting, Medair was manually processing the admin booking (indirect costs) and revenue recognition each quarter.  During our onsite visit in Switzerland, we wrapped up setup items and procedures and provided training to the project team, finance staff, grant writers and International Operations.  The team is very enthused to now have the ability to maintain the grants and reporting all in one system, with visibility into the status of expenses, recognized revenue, indirect cost and the many other data tracking methods available.

We also met with the finance staff and logistics department on management of the assets.  This is a manual tracking process (asset master record information, depreciation and disposals) that has been rather cumbersome for the team, especially with getting field office asset changes back to HQ or logistics.  Along with the Medair staff, we set forth the requirements to implement the Serenic Fixed Assets granule in February.

During my onsite visit, I was able tour the beautiful city of Lausanne, the second largest city on Lake Geneva and the location of the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee.  I experienced hot wine, real French crepes, authentic Swiss fondue and, of course, Swiss chocolates!  I probably gained about 5 lbs from over-indulging in the cheese and chocolates J.  Geert from Medair showed me some museums and the beautiful Lausanne Cathedral (originally built in the 12^th century), on his day off…how sweet!  The Medair finance department also invited me to experience a traditional Swiss dinner with raclette cheese, smoked meat and potatoes.   Thomas made a killer tiramisu (I know, this is Italian instead of French, but it was too good to leave out)!  The hospitality of the Medair team was incredible!

Of course, I had to add some excitement to the visit by setting a bowl of potato chips on fire, during apero (sort of like a happy hour/gathering).  Luckily, the Medair staff was well equipped with fire safety training to stomp it out. I was grateful nothing was damaged and nobody was hurt.  The Medair staff got a good laugh and snapped pictures during the fiasco (which I am not posting)!

All in all, it was a great visit and we made some major progress with the project.

Quiana Willard, Senior Application Consultant

The second annual European Summit was held in Geneva on November 9^th.  Focusing on accountability and transparency, we welcomed our guests in Geneva to share stories about how Serenics’ solutions are supporting their missions.

Attendees were very engaged and showed particular interest to hear customer testimonials, product updates and the direction of the new solutions we are developing.  Jim Ingram, CEO from Medair, provided a client showcase and highlights of the Serenic solution including the newly introduced ZAP Business Intelligence.

We also welcomed our newest client, The Forest Trust, into the Serenic client community and we were able to catch up with many of our current clients as well.

Thanks to everyone who attended and we are looking forward to the third annual European Summit!

We recently hosted a focus group with a number of nonprofit development professionals here in the Denver area.  The feedback we received from the interactive meeting is helping us prioritize features in our upcoming DonorVision 2011 software solution.  During the focus group, our product manager, Tom Dungan, gave a live demo of the features currently built into the gift and constituent management system.  We were glad to hear we are on the right track in meeting the needs of nonprofits, but also took notes on enhancements and other nice-to-haves the development professional requested.

Serenic DonorVision 2011 is a constituent and gift management system built upon Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.  Many were excited to see how the CRM, gift management functions, and Microsoft Outlook have been brought together in a familiar format.

Thanks to all those who attended!  We hope everyone enjoyed the company, food and drink – we did!

We recently developed and released a new nonprofit accounting software module – Serenic Deposits and Loans.  The module was developed specifically for our archdiocese and diocesan clients who have unique needs in the not-for-profit space.

Serenic Deposits and Loans allows our diocesan users to capture an entire client deposit and loan picture while integrating with the diocesan financial management suite.  All records are updated, including their General Ledger (G/L).  Other benefits are drill down functionality to all deposit activity and maintaining all loan activities including interest charges, interest fees, and advance payout and amortization schedules.

Users can also have access to the deposits and loans through a new DLI Portal.   The online portal gives access to those outside the Accounting department, allowing clients to view:

• Real-time balances on deposit accounts and loans

• Next loan payment, due date and loan amount

• Date and amounts of last payout or reinvestment of deposit account interest

• Previous 12 months of client statements

• Client contact information which can be updated by the client

To find out more about the new Deposits and Loans module and how it can help your archdiocese or diocese, download the full fact sheet.

Surveys!  The very word typically conjures up other sentiments, like waste of time, intrusive or a nuisance.  I got what I needed, now I would just like to move on with my day.  And besides, no one actually ever reads those things anyway and even if they did, it is not likely my feedback will even matter.  Sound familiar?  It does to me because, to be quite frank, that is how I feel most of the time.  But I am getting better.  Why?  Because being on the other side of those software surveys is teaching me to be less cynical and more willing to spare a few minutes for the greater good.  I realize now that my feedback does matter and I am merely assisting the solicitor of this information in making their products and services better for me.

Serenic Software has officially declared this fiscal year as the “Year of the Customer”.   While it is true that every year, Serenic acknowledges how important our nonprofit, NGO and public sector customers are to us, this year in particular, every department and every position is acutely aware of making sure that the customer’s best interests are in mind.

Soon, every customer will be using a brand new vehicle in which to submit a support case, SerenicSource.  Serenic is phasing out e-mail support in favor of this new portal.  It will provide more visibility into accounting and financial software cases as well as enable Serenic to provide more efficient and value added support.  To that end, each time a case is closed, a survey will follow.  The survey will be very short and consist of about 7 questions asking you how we did.  We are using these surveys to help us make our financial software support offering better.  Each month in fact, the entire management team convenes to review the results of these surveys and discusses how we can maintain the success and improve upon the mistakes or less than satisfactory experiences.

Our never-ending goal is to continually strive to make your support experience a positive one and these surveys are integral to making that happen.  So please continue to provide the feedback and Thank You for being a Serenic customer.

Dave Abel

VP of Client Services

The Improvement 1 release (6.00.01.00) for North America (NA), which includes BudgetVision, has just been deployed and the W1 version will follow in the next four to six weeks. BudgetVision is our new budget preparation module specifically built to help nonprofits and NGOs manage their entire budget life-cycle. BudgetVision is designed to handle a decentralized budget preparation process, allowing for the creation of unlimited subplans based on fund/dimension filters specified by the budget administrator. Additional features that streamline budget preparation include calculations, spread methods, a multi-level approval process, and multiple currency codes. Because BudgetVision fully integrates with Serenic Navigator, our fund accounting software, you have a fully automated budget preparation tool.

You can read the entire BudgetVision fact sheet to see all the new features and functionality. We hope you are as excited as we are to check it out!

A few months ago, we announced our Early Adopter Program (EAP) for the Serenic Navigator Online (NOL) product, our cloud based fund accounting system for small and mid-sized nonprofits. Today, it’s time for a quick update.

First, we decided to rename it and in the span of an afternoon, the EAP became the CFG (Customer Focus Group). This allowed us to emphasize that NOL is not new – it’s built off the same Navigator NA (BE license) that’s been around for years, serving hundreds of customers. The cloud based delivery system and implementation tools are the new element in the mix, and the CFG was designed to allow us to work closely with customers to prove our concept works and identify areas for process improvement.

Second, we looked for customers. And we found them – four diverse organizations that helped us work through the things we hadn’t thought of, were patient while we streamlined our processes, and provided suggestions for ways we could improve the experience for future customers.

Some facts about our first four customers:

• They range from a 4-person accounting office to a “1-man shop.”
• Their environments are varied, including Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac environments. (Note: On a Mac, you must run Windows in a virtual environment.)
• They include employees accessing the software from locations across the United States and abroad.

Each customer brought a new perspective to the process, helping us ensure that we provided all the correct materials and support. And as the first CFG customers prepare to go live, we’re now ready to go live ourselves.

It’s an exciting time to work at Serenic!!!

We are working with ZAP Technology to create a ZAP BI solution for Serenic Navigator – helping nonprofits stay proactive with their financial management!  This web-based solution will include a nonprofit financial management cube and a set of standard KPI’s, scorecards and reports.  What does that all mean for your organization? It means that you won’t need to scramble for solutions when fires (hopefully not real fires) arise! This software will eliminate surprises and help you and your colleagues be on top of your organization’s key indicators.

At a high level, ZAP indicates that Business Intelligence can help your organization with “automated management reporting, alerts, report scheduling, and what-if analysis.”  ZAP further points out that “users are empowered to create their own analytics, while power users appreciate the simplicity and flexibility in creating complex analytics and automating workflows.”

And since the BI solution needs minimal technical resources, nonprofits don’t need to worry about having the technical staff to set up the business processes. Wouldn’t it be great to be proactive with your nonprofit’s financial management?  Stay tuned for future updates!