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A C C O
U N T A B I L I T Y
The ministry does a good job of accounting
for the monies that are provided by donors in order to assure that every
dollar is used as directed by the contributor. Therefore monies given to purchase specific
assets are used only for that purpose whereas monies given in general support
of the ministry are pooled and used as various needs arise. The U.S. side of the ministry has a
firm control over the monies received and disbursed.
Liberia does not have a financial infrastructure that
supports proper financial controls.
While banks do exist, setting up an account, clearing deposited funds
and other standard financial transactions are slow and expensive. A check sent to be deposited in Liberia
may take two months to clear. Few
establishments accept payment by local check and payment of workers is not
regulated and is completely in cash.
The exchange rate hovers around $40 - $50 Liberian dollars per U.S.
dollar which means not only that all the money earned is kept in cash but
also that the physical quantity of the bills is huge. Twenty U.S. dollars may be 200 LRD yet the
denominations of bills have not been adjusted accordingly. Therefore a literal sack of money is
required to make fairly routine payments.
Based upon the March 2004 trip it is my belief that setting up a
properly secured system of accountability within Liberia will be a significant
task.
Therefore, one area of accountability
that has not been properly established is over the earnings from the Liberian
business enterprises. There is no
inference here that any inappropriate use of funds has occurred, only to
openly state that a proper accounting system is not in place within the
Liberian side of the operations. We
are actively praying that God will send one or more U.S. citizens that will be willing to travel
to Monrovia
and spend the necessary time to establish the appropriate systems, train the
Liberian nationals and oversee the ongoing financial reporting. The initial task will likely take months to
accomplish and require significant time in country in order to transition the
trained Liberians through several accounting cycles. In addition, the personnel involved would
be expected to provide this service at no charge and would be responsible for
raising their own travel money. (UPDATE: During
the March 2005 trip just completed we provided training and accounting
worksheets to all people involved in the business and ministry activities so
that April would be the first month when accounting information would be
tracked. While we do not expect
perfection for several months, this is a start in reaching our goal of full
financial accountability.)
It is imperative that God’s money be
fully accounted for and properly presented for the information of past,
current and future participants. Even
more important than proper accounting is the usage of the information this
will provide. Without good accounting
information the ministry will not know if it is using God’s gifts to their
maximum effectiveness. The best usage
of revenue generating assets can only be determined when the financial
results of their use is accurately tracked.
For these reasons the Liberian Ministries is firmly committed to
improving the level of financial accountability within Liberia.
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