St Andrew’s Parish Church, Coatbridge

Commentary on 2001 Accounts and 2002 Budget

This document should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements for

St Andrew’s Parish Church, Coatbridge for the year to 31 December 2001.

General Fund - Income

Freewill Offering	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Freewill Offering	£ 59,874	£ 61,500	£ 60,062	£ 62,000
Freewill Offering is the largest element of our income. In 2001 the income from this source was 0.3% higher than in 2000 but despite this increase it fell short of budget by more than £ 1,400. The 2002 budget is an increase of 3.2% on the actual givings in 2001, a level of increase which will be necessary if we are to meet our financial commitments in 2002.

Tax Recovered via Covenants	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Tax Recovered via Covenants	£ 7,376	£ 7,500	£ 8,487	£ 8,500
In 2001 the income from this source showed a substantial increase of 15% over 2000 despite a reduction in the basic rate of Income Tax from 6 April 2000 which had an adverse effect on the amount we could reclaim. The increase arose as a result of the introduction of a new tax scheme and the effort we made to get the Congregation to sign new tax forms. The budget for 2002 shows little change on 2001 as it is based largely on the givings in 2001 rather than 2002. We will only see the amount of tax reclaimed increasing substantially if givings increase or if more of the Congregation sign tax forms.

Ordinary Offerings	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Ordinary Offerings	£ 3,259	£ 3,000	£ 2,905	£ 3,000
Ordinary Offerings decreased by 11% compared to 2000, with the 2001 actual givings being £ 95 below budget. The ordinary offerings are fairly volatile and as a result the 2002 budget is unchanged from the 2001 budget.

Donations	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Donations	£ 2,201	£ 1,200	£ 1,056	£ 1,200
Like the ordinary offerings the donations item is volatile and, although we saw a significant increase in 2000 when we were well ahead of budget, we saw a significant reduction in 2001. We have set the budget for 2002 at the same level as the 2001 budget.

Collection Boxes	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Collection Boxes	£ 1,390	£ 1,500	£ 1,411	£ 1,500
The income from Collection Boxes was little different in 2001 from 2000 but we did fall short of budget by 5.9%. The income from this source had declined steadily but has now increased slightly and we hope to raise it further in 2002. As a result we have set a budget for 2002 at the same level as the 2001 budget.

Sunday Teas	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Sunday Teas	£ 800	£ 800	£ 900	£ 800
The Sunday Teas continued to be a very valuable source of income with the amount transferred to the Church being above budget at £900. The budget for 2002 is unchanged form the 2001 budget level.

Fund Raising	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Fund Raising	£ 1,943	£ 2,000	£ 120	£ 2,000
In 2001 our fund raising income for the Church directly rather than for organisations was a Floral Display and the Christmas Fayre (the proceeds of which were placed in the Fabric Fund). We have not increased the budget of £ 2,000 for 2002.

Organisations	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Organisations	£ 2,080	£ 2,000	£ 2,150	£ 2,000
The donations from organisations again increased in 2001 although a number of organisations did not contribute financially to the Church. We have retained the 2001 budget of £ 2,000 for 2002 but it is worth noting that £ 600 of the income from this source in 2001 arose from the Line Dancing which has been discontinued.

Other Income	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Other Income	£ 1,763	£ 0	£ 710	£ 0
Once again in 2001 a number of external organisations, although fewer than in previous years, made use of the premises and made donations to our funds. We choose not to budget for such income as it is variable and unpredictable from year to year.

General Fund - Expenditure

Local Ministry	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Local Ministry	£ 35,354	£ 36,797	£ 36,862	£ 37,124
The items in this category are mostly dictated by the Church of Scotland. The budget for 2002 shows an increase of 0.7% over the actual costs in 2001. The increase would have been 2.9% had it not been for a reduction in our banding for contribution to the Service Supplement Fund.

Mission and Wider Work	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Mission and Wider Work	£ 18,345	£ 19,090	£ 19,101	£ 18,760
The 2002 budget shows a decrease of 1.8% over the actual expenditure in 2001 due to a reduction of £ 380 in our Mission and Aid contribution to central funds.

Local Congregational

2000 Actual

2001 Budget

2002 Budget

£ 21,808

£ 23,594

£ 21,616

£ 25,032

Largely the expenditure was close to budget but a few items are worthy of mention

organists costs were below budget by £120 as a result of us making less use of locum organists than anticipated
stationery costs were below budget by £400 (the largest cost in this category being £550 for WFO envelopes)
Sunday School expenses were £200 above the anticipated level of £250 as a result of new material being required
organ and piano maintenance costs were £250 above budget as a result of the timing of accounts arising and of additional work carried out on pianos
repairs and maintenance were £1,500 below budget due to our focus on larger renovations (which arise in the Fabric Fund) and the saving of costs due to voluntary work carried out on the buildings

The budget for 2002 shows little change compared to that for 2001 but two items are worthy of note

an increase of £500 in the budget for repairs and maintenance
a £1,000 increase in the budget for rates and insurance as a result of changes to the rates for Churches and expectation of increases in insurance costs

Surplus	2000 Actual	2001 Budget	2001 Actual	2002 Budget
Surplus	£ 5,169	£ 19	£ 222	£ 84
We anticipated and produced a small surplus on 2001. The budget for 2002 again anticipates a small surplus.

Opening balance	Income	Expenditure	Closing Balance
£ 73,198	£ 27,034	£ 27,891	£ 72,341
The Fabric Fund again saw several transactions in 2001. The income items were the proceeds of the Christmas Fayre plus the interest income, the transfer from the General Fund and a recovery from the Landfill Tax of £20,101 which was largely to cover the costs of the repairs made to the stained glass windows in 2001 (work which will continue in 2002). The major items of expenditure were the repairs to the stained glass windows and the roof and gutter repairs to the Church building. The central heating cost is the deposit payment for the renewal of the system with a further cost of approximately £3,500 due to arise in 2002.

Hugh McKee

Finance Convener

13 February 2002