The advantage of establishing auditing procedures

27. In some countries the law requires official verification of accounts by means of an outside, public auditing firm. It's an exercise in control, and confirms the accuracy of your administrative records. I've learned that, based on a decision at its Chapter, one congregation is doing this at the level of its General Administration. Although this financial report and oversight is a bit costly, the members are happy because it gives them security and they receive updates and advice about risk and other aspects of finance.

But there are audits of an internal nature. Although not compulsory, companies, societies, and religious Provinces may decide to opt for this procedure. It involves periodic visits to administrative offices by experts. This requires a Province or Congregation to have clear ideas about the functioning of its administration, about the objectives and ends that it stands for, etc. It seems that these studies are not very costly, and they help administrations to better organize their work. These audits provide information on how to analyze costs, security concerns, and risk management for assets, and they help an organization to justify its spending policies. They also offer guidelines enabling Congregations to see how near or how far their spending habits are from the stated aims found in their official documents.