The program was announced by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki in a May 24 letter to priests of the diocese. In his letter, the bishop said the new program “will promote stewardship and transparency over the finances of our parishes and schools.”

“I write to you today seeking your support and cooperation with the standardization of accounting and payroll for all of the parishes in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois,” the letter said.

In addition, the diocese will reimburse parishes for the implementation costs, as well as first-year licensing and software fees, the letter said.

Aaron Kuhn, parish financial coordinator in the diocesan Office for Finances, said a number of reasons contributed to the decision to standardize financial software for diocesan institutions. Among the advantages for standardization are:

• Consistent reporting for all parishes and schools;

• Ease of transferring pastors between parishes;

• Meeting requirements of current and future regulatory requirements by federal and state governments, including new healthcare reporting requirements, new federal standards for reporting on pensions and retirement accounts, and new reporting requirements for churches to retain their non-profit status;

• Encouraging accurate reporting of employees, particularly for marketing of benefit plans.

Almost five years ago, the diocese began reviewing software systems with these goals in mind, Kuhn said. “The Office for Finance was looking for programs that were reasonably priced, easy to use, and flexible and would provide consistent reporting for accounting and payroll.”

Kuhn said that after careful analysis, Paychex, Inc. was chosen as the sole payroll vendor. QuickBooks, hosted by CathoNet, a subsidiary of RightNetworks, will be used for accounting.

John Maxwell, director of the Office for Finances, said that since May four regional presentations have been held to explain the new systems.

“Informational presentations were held in Edwardsville, Springfield, Effingham and Quincy and the response was very positive,” Maxwell said. “A number of parishes requested early installation, and a training day was held June 29, which was attended by representatives of 24 parishes.”

Janet Vespa, associate director for finances, said that parishes currently are “all over the place” in their accounting practices.

“We even have some parishes that still keep books by hand and we will work with them,” Vespa said.

Vespa said that one advantage to a standardized accounting system is a uniform chart of accounts. The new system will have defined major accounts, but still allow flexibility for parishes to add sub-accounts on an individual basis.

“This should provide more consistency across the board,” Vespa said. “For instance, a pastor going to a new parishshouldn't necessarily have to reinvent the wheel. With a uniform accounting system, he can go in and ask for an income statement in a recognizable format."

Implementation is set to begin in early August and is expected to be complete in all 130 parishes of the diocese by July 2012.

"We will provide as much on-site help as we can, which is why we are staggering the installation process," Kuhn said. "But remote assistance will be available as well, so that if a parish needs some kind of immediate help, we will be able to provide assistance on line."

For further information, contact Kuhn in the Office for Finance a (217) 698-8500, ext.164, or e-mail him at .