St Andrew’s Parish Church, Coatbridge

Commentary on 2004 Accounts and 2005 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 2004.

General Fund - Income

Freewill Offering	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Freewill Offering	£ 63,099	£ 64,000	£ 60,953	£ 61,250
In 2004 we saw a reduction of 3.4% in freewill offering giving, our main source of income. We hope to increase givings in 2005 but acknowledge that this may be difficult during the vacancy. We have assumed a small increase of 0.5% in 2005.

Tax Recovered	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Tax Recovered	£ 8,907	£ 9,000	£ 9,357	£ 9,500
Due to the timing of some givings the 2003 claim was lower than normal and we did see the expected increase in 2004 when the claim was up by 5.1%. We have budgeted for a small increase of 1.5% in 2005. We will only see a significant increase in this source of income if more members sign up.

Ordinary Offerings	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Ordinary Offerings	£ 2,944	£ 2,750	£ 2,854	£ 3,000
The ordinary offerings received through the open plate declined in 2004 by 3.1%, a similar reduction to the freewill offering giving. We have assumed in the budget for 2005 that we see a recovery to £ 3,000.

Donations	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Donations	£ 1,253	£ 2,000	£ 752	£ 1,000
We see large fluctuations from year to year in donations due to occasionally receiving large single donations. In 2004 we saw a reduction of nearly a half in donations and as a result have reduced the budget for 2005.

Collection Boxes	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Collection Boxes	£ 1,057	£ 1,100	£ 1,014	£ 1,000
In 2004 we saw a small reduction in the income from collection boxes. This is an important source of income for us and we hope to do better in 2005. We have reduced the budget however to try to avoid overestimating.

Sunday Teas	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Sunday Teas	£ 900	£ 800	£ 900	£ 800
Once again in 2004 we received a donation of £900 from the Sunday Teas, a great result. We have maintained the budget for 2005 at £800.

Fund Raising	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Fund Raising	£ 0	£ 2,000	£ 0	£ 2,000
In 2004 we did not have any fund raising in the General Fund. We did however raise over £3,000 for the Fabric Fund through the Christmas Fayre.

Organisations	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Organisations	£ 1,650	£ 1,750	£ 2,250	£ 2,000
Many of our organisations once again made donations in 2004 and we hope that all organisations will contribute in 2005. In 2004 we saw increases in the donations from The Guild, Thursday Club and Sunday School. We have increased the budget for 2005 to £ 2,000.

Other Income	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Other Income	£ 1,771	£ 0	£ 2,324	£ 0
Once again in 2004 we received a range of other income. We do not budget for this income but instead accept it as windfall if it arises. In 2004 the largest item in this category was the combined donations of more than £600 from the various Alcoholics Anonymous groups which use our halls.

General Fund - Expenditure

Local Ministry	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Local Ministry	£ 38,147	£ 41,210	£ 39,688	£ 39,550
Expenditure in this category was below budget by approximately £ 1,500 due to the stipend, travelling expenses and telephone falling below budget. Mr Wotherspoon’s illness and absence from work resulted in the travelling expenses and telephone being below budget. The stipend fell below budget due to the rebate system that the Church of Scotland operates during a vacancy albeit this rebate was offset significantly by the pulpit supply costs which arose. Unlike previous times a vacancy does not result in significantly lower costs for us.

Mission and Wider Work	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Mission and Wider Work	£ 18,170	£ 16,943	£ 16,875	£ 17,453
We were slightly below budget expenditure for 2004 as a result of us slightly overestimating our payment to Hamilton Presbytery. We expect an increase of 3.4% from 2004 to 2005.

Local Congregational

2003 Actual

2004 Budget

2004 Actual

2005 Budget

£ 21,453

£ 25,168

£ 22,649

£ 23,480

We have little influence over the two previous categories of expenditure but we have full control over this area. The areas where we were significantly adrift of budget in 2004 were

stationery – over budget by £ 1,676 due to the purchase of a new copier
repairs and maintenance – under budget by £ 4,012
heating and lighting – under budget by £ 337

The significant changes in 2005 budget from 2004 budget are

repairs and maintenance – a decrease from £ 5,750 to £ 4,500
rates and insurances – a decrease from £ 6,500 to £ 6,000

General Fund – Consolidated Position

Surplus	2003 Actual	2004 Budget	2004 Actual	2005 Budget
Surplus	£ 3,811	£ 79	£ 1,192	£ 67
In 2004 we started the year with a small budget surplus of £79. In fact we had a surplus of £ 1,192. Although income was £ 3,000 below budget our expenditure was £4,100 below budget. The main contributing element to this was the repairs and maintenance item. Once again we have budgeted for a small surplus in 2005.

Fabric Fund

Opening balance	Income	Expenditure	Closing Balance
£ 89,488	£ 20,774	£ 14,558	£ 95,704
In 2004 we once again boosted our Fabric Fund through strong fundraising, income from deposits and investments and generous donations. The one item of expenditure was matched by a Land Trust grant. In 2005 we will have substantial expenditure from the Fabric Fund due to recent work within the Church, on the doors and the staircases at the front of the Church and due to upgrading required at the Manse.

Hugh McKee - Finance Convener - 7 March 2005