ABSTRACT
This research project concerned a study of the financial record keeping of religious organizations: A Case Study of Catholic Churches in Enugu Diocese. A sample of sixty-three parishes was made from the diocese. Investigations were carried on their financial control used both internally and externally, the accounting system and financial decisions/reporting adopted. This showed whether there was an efficient and effective financial record keeping in the church. Since rth research aimed at investigating existing financial record keeping or practice the employment of descriptive method of research was found adequate. The main instruments used for the collection of primary data were the structured libraries and other research units served as secondary data. The researcher ensured that the questionnaire possessed to a large extent the characteristics necessary and adequate for the purpose of validity and reliability. Data collected were analyzed and presented with percentages and tables and hypothesis were tested with the chi-square (X2) statistics and the following results emerged.
The study revealed that the church keeps proper record of its accounts and that there is accountability and responsibility, every member of the finance council has to give account of the money entrusted to him. It also showed that the church makes yearly budget before expenses are incurred and that authorization and control of church expenditure is vested on the management team.
Based on the finds, both short and long term measures were recommended as ways of enhancing financial record keeping in religious organizations.  Â
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Every organization both business and non-business requires and uses finance for its various activities. The business organizations are set up primarily for profit making like banks, companies and other related ventures while the religious organizations are not meant for profit making but for rendering services and winning souls to God. Religious organizations can come from inform of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religious sectors of organizations. The religious organization of interest is Christian religion and indeed Catholic Church.
Since finance is very vital for the welfare and growth of these organizations, its administration has to be well accorded financial records keeping. Finance at the macro level is the study of financial planning, assets management and fundraising for business, while macro is te study of finance institution and finance market and how they operate within financial system (Anyafo, 2000:3). In view of Emekekwue (1993:1), finance is primarily concerned with money and momentary matters. In general, finance can be taken as a body of principles and theories dealing with raiding, investing, managing and employing funds by individual and organizations in private and public sectors (Oye: 2002:7).
According to Osisioma (1996:63), a system is a complete array of an ordered arrangement of interdependent elements, with a common goal, related by a network of relationships. Such a system has input process-output component, and it is in itself an information system.
Financial systems are subsystems in a business organization whose responsibility is to ensure that business transactions are recorded in proper books of account on the basis of recognized accounting practice, analyzed, interpreted and presented to the users of accounting information (Ubesie, 1998:97). He further stressed that financial system consists of financial intermediaries, financial market, financial instruments, rules and norms that facilitate and regulate the flow of funds through the macro economy.
In essence, Catholic Church as one of the religious organizations is not meant for profit making but for bringing souls to Christ. The church requires fund to administer its affairs and to carry out its daily religious obligations. The funds are not necessarily adequate to meet up to its numerous demands, though there are various sources of generating income. It is then necessary to determine the financial income being used by the churches whether there are proper record keeping, the financial decisions and reporting made and the accounting system or procedure adopted. There arises the need for the church to keep track of its financial operations, this helps form an adage for it to control its income against its expenditure. Thus, a house built on a solid foundation remains a strong house but that whose foundation is shaky can crumble at any time. In the same way, a good financial background of a church can be said to be the foundation on which the church is built.
Therefore, the importance of finance, its adequacy to the church and how these are managed and controlled has led to the topic of the study financial record-keeping of religious organizations, a case study of Catholic Church in Enugu Diocese.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Many religious organizations are now being faced with the problem of finance, the inadequacy of funds to carry outs their religious rites. Catholic churches are not an exception as most of the churches are incapacitated in terms of fund, yet there are several sources of finance but the church seems not to meet up its financial demand. For good financial records, there must be a well developed financial decision and reporting procedures and financial control being used or operated.
         It is based on this, that the researcher topic is chosen to asses the financial record keeping of religious organizations taken into consideration, Catholic Church in Enugu Diocese so as to know how the church manages and controls its fund and to suggest ways they can be improved for a better result.
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