My columns often focus on operational matters here at St. Matt’s. This week’s no exception; the focus is on financial matters rather than facilities.
APFR stands for Annual Parish Financial Report. This is required by the end of October each year. It provides the Archdiocese with an accounting of our parish revenues and expenses for FY23 (Fiscal Year 2023, which ended June 30). Thanks to our contract with PASC (Parish Accounting Service Center), the APFR is pretty easy for the CSM (Church of St. Matthew). We collected the necessary signatures from our PA (Parochial Administrator) Fr. Antony Skaria and trustees last week. I submitted the form on October 27.
Because of our significant support of COS (Community of Saints Regional Catholic School), our ASPM (Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis) assessment rate is 8%, not the usual 10%. Thanks to PASC helping us submit the APFR on time, we received an additional quarter per cent discount. When we receive ASPM billings in the next year, therefore, the effective rate will be 7.75%. (I understand from various sources that our ASPM assessment rate is more or less in the middle, when compared with other dioceses around the country.)
The ARL (Annual Representation Letter) was sent in on October 27, as it’s also due at the end of October. It affirms to the ASPM’s CFO (Chief Financial Officer) that we do indeed have a Finance Council; that the Council meets and discusses our finances at least quarterly; and that we report our finances to the parish. You might recall that we sent out a parish financial report in early October. More recently, we posted our FY24 (Fiscal Year 2024) budget on our website. Hard copies are available by request.
These temporal matters are often invisible to the wider world, but they’re essential to the smooth operations of any parish. I’m grateful to the members of our St. Matt’s Finance Council, as their wisdom helps steward our financial resources.
Let me know if you have any questions about our finances, or talk to any member of the Finance Council: Becky Montgomery, Richard Dunn, Alan Christensen, Tony Postiglione, Jackie Lackner, and trustees Karen Thompson and John Del Vecchio.
Thank you for your support, and have a great week!
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