Effective Dates
Policy: 2018-June-22
COA Listing: 2020-May-21
A. Introduction
The chart of accounts (COA) is the backbone of the financial system. It provides the organizing framework for financial reporting using mostly numeric characters to designate the transactions that comprise the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement.
The chart of accounts is structured to ensure the parish can manage the stewardship of the parish’s funds, produce financial statements for the Parish Finance Council, parishioners, and Archdiocese and adhere to regulatory requirements.
The structure of the COA takes advantage of the feature in QuickBooks Pro allowing for both top level or parent accounts and subaccounts, also known as child accounts. In some cases, there may be four levels of subaccounts. It is likely that parishes may not use every account initially.
When setting up the accounts in QuickBooks Pro, parishes are to ensure that the appropriate tax line is also set up. This will assist the parish during the annual preparation of the Registered Charity Return (T3010) for the Canada Revenue Agency.
Only the accounts that are listed in this document may be used; however, parishes are to be aware that the chart of accounts is a living or dynamic document meaning that it is continually edited and updated. All document revisions will be tracked and parishes will be notified when changes are made.
Parishes can request account modifications – additions, deletions or changes – by emailing the Internal Audit Office: [email protected]. All submissions must be accompanied by a statement justifying the business reason for the modification.
B. Definitions
The following definitions are provided to assist bookkeepers in selecting the proper account to ensure consistency in the use of the COA.
Assets
An asset is a resource with economic value that the parish controls with the expectation that it will provide a future benefit. There are four account types:
- Bank
- Accounts Receivable
- Other Current Asset
- Fixed Asset
Liabilities
A liability is a legal financial debt or obligation that arises during the course of business operations. There are three account types:
- Accounts Payable
- Other Current Liability
- Long-term Liability
Equity
Equity, also known as Net Assets, Reserves or Retained Earnings, is the entity’s net worth, calculated as the total value of the assets less the total value of the liabilities. There is only one account type: Equity.
C. Accounts
The chart of accounts listing can be found below. The structure is designed to facilitate account set- up in QuickBooks Pro, the official accounting software of the Archdiocese (c.f. Accounting Software Policy). Parent and child accounts (subaccounts) have been employed. In a few of the account groupings, there are four levels of accounts. Unless obvious, descriptions of the accounts are also included.
Approved: June 22, 2018
Memorial of Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More
+ J. Michael Miller, CSB
Archbishop of Vancouver
Effective Dates
Policy: 2018-June-22
COA Listing: 2020-May-21