Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.— 2 Corinthians 9:7-8
Accountability & controls
Arise Church is registered under the Charities Act 2005, which outlines specific standards that need to be met, including financial requirements. Controls are in place to mitigate risks and ensure processes are outworked accordingly.
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Transactions & Payments
- All supplier orders, credit card purchases, and reimbursements are required to be in budget with a valid purchase order number.
- Invoices are signed off by budget owners.
- Reimbursements are signed off by line managers.
- Credit card transactions are monitored by finance team.
- Senior, executive and high level management credit card transactions monitored and signed off by a non-executive Board Member.
- All payments undergo two finance team checks,then are authorized by two authorities.
- Occasionally personal charges are incurred on credit cards, although we are working to minimise this. If it does occur, the expense is coded to a recharge account code and an invoice sent to the staff member for payment. All expenses outside the recharge account are processed and/or reviewed by the finance team to ensure they are organisational costs.
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Monthly Reviews
All transactions for all budgets are reviewed in detail by the finance team each month. A profit and loss report for each budget area is then prepared and sent to the budget owner, along with a short narrative highlighting any areas of over expenditure and action points to bring it back in line.
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Board Oversight
Financial oversight and responsibility sits with the board. The board reviews and approves the annual budget and delegates the outworking of this budget to the finance team and budget owners.
Each month the board receives an update on finances, including a statement of performance and position which covers all transactions. Any over expenditure is highlighted and discussed, with actions set and communicated to minimise any variations. Expenditure outside of the budget requires prior approval according to the delegated financial authority policy. This authority primarily sits with the board, with relatively low levels delegated to management.
The board and the finance team are in direct contact and communication, with any additional information or updates provided as needed.
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Annual Audit
Each year, our financial accounts, processes, and controls are audited by an independent firm. This engagement tests and checks our systems, processes, and controls, as well as a sample of transactions and key accounts. The process also examines potential risks, and whether there are adequate controls in place to mitigate them, and the consequential impact on financial statements.
These are prepared in line with the Financial Reporting Act 2013, in accordance with the NZ GAAP and comply with the PBE IPSAS, as well as other applicable standards, as appropriate for a Tier 2 not-for-profit PBE.
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Executive/Management Expenditure
Financial operations sit with the finance team. Expenditure incurred by senior, executive and high level management is reviewed and approved by a non-executive board member. All expense records are sent to the finance team (by mail or email), who then provide the required information to the non-executive board member to review and approve. Occasionally personal charges are incurred on credit cards, although this has been minimised. In this case, the charges are highlighted and coded to a recharge account with an invoice sent to the staff member for payment.
As with all other expenses, any executive/management expenditure requires a pre-purchase order and to be within the appropriate approved budget. These expenses are reviewed again and allocated by the finance team based off the approved PPO and budget.
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Professional Standards & Code of Ethics
The finance team is made up of people with the appropriate and required level of experience and qualifications. The team includes members of CAANZ (Chartered Accountancy Australia New Zealand) who are bound by professional standards and code of ethics.
All transactions are recorded and reconciled on our accounting software. This is only accessible to the finance team and auditors. Any changes made are automatically noted on the software, and are included in control and substantive testing performed as part of annual and ad-hoc audits.
Financial Processes
Detailed financial processes are outworked both in the day-to-day activity and the future planning of Arise Church. This is to help direct decision making, and ensure resources are stewarded well.
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Annual Budgeting
Our overall budget is made up of about 20 budgets representing different teams and areas of the church – each campus has a budget, and each area of the Nationwide office.
The budgeting process is a mix of top-down and bottom-up. Our Board sets some high-level parameters for the budget, taking into account the priorities for the year. Our finance team then works with each budget owner to forecast wants and needs to the following year – looking at average previous spend, any growth in congregation size or activity, and any areas for saving. These budgets are compiled, along with a list of any requests.
The Leadership Team will take a list of priorities and the Board will then sign off on the final budget, which is input into our accounting software and communicated and confirmed to each budget owner.
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Delegated Authorities
Any expenses that fall outside of the annual budget must be approved by someone with a sufficient level of delegated financial authority. DFA sits primarily with the Board with relatively low-level authorisation for management ($10k and under).
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Salary Setting
Salaries are a large part of our budget, and of course represent our incredible staff team. We have a process for setting salaries.
Each of the roles within our organization sits in a band with an associated salary range. The placement of roles into bands, and the salary range for each is informed by input from Strategic Pay, which is a remuneration consultant with market information from a variety of sectors.
Individual salaries/raises will be set based on that staff member’s ‘placement’ within the relevant band. This is determined with equal weighting of the below factors:
- Size of Responsibility
- Performance/Delivery
- People Leadership
- Expertise
- Tenure
Historically, Senior Pastor salaries have fallen outside of this process, and outside of this budget. They were set independently by a remuneration sub-committee of the Board and Spiritual Oversight. This process will be reevaluated moving forward.
Although any staff member is able to have discussions with their line manager or the Board regarding their remuneration, they are unable to be involved in the final determination of their pay.
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ARISE Care
Arise Care is a significant part of our Church and we receive giving specifically ‘tagged’ for this area. Arise Care includes specific events such as the Big Hearts campaign and cause offerings such as disaster and humanitarian relief campaigns. Giving towards these specific events are allocated and used immediately for the purpose identified.
‘Tagged’ giving to Arise Care outside of these specific events operates slightly different. This is due to the need to identify, plan and outwork the increased activity that the giving would allow. Due to the time needed, and the desire to steward and spend wisely, any ‘tagged’ giving outside specific events is allocated to the following years budget, on top of the set budget.
Part of our Arise Care budget is our amazing Arise Care staff team, who carry the vision, help outwork the heart of our Church and provide important pastoral and community care. Their remuneration is additional to the Arise Care expenses identified on the financial statements, and included in the remuneration expense line.
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Events
Our event budgets are standalone and approved by the Board in the lead up. These budgets are set up to be break even – i.e. the income from the event would cover expenses.
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Debt Principle & Interest Payments
Arise has a relatively low level of debt with a loan to value ratio of 31%. There is no remaining debt on the Arise Centre in Petone, and minimal debt for the Whangarei building and Christchurch land.
We make both principal & interest payments on our Christchurch loan. We currently pay interest only on our Whangarei building (as is common practice during the construction phase), however, we put a total of $4.25m in cash towards the building last year, making a bulk principle payment of $2m and paying $2.25m directly to the project rather than drawing down on debt.
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Guest Speakers
Occasionally we have a ‘guest speaker’ at our Church. We are grateful for the many amazing ministers in New Zealand and beyond that have sown into our Church and lives, and are blessed to be a part of the wider body of Christ. All expenses associated with guest speakers – including flights, accommodation and gifts/honorariums – are from a Board approved budget. Earlier this year the Board strengthened the guest speaker policy and standardised amounts. Each honorarium is confirmed by a non-executive board member prior to being communicated and sent.
2023 Finance Report
Our 2023 Financial Report provides an in-depth analysis of our organisation's financial performance and progress over the past year. The report covers Arise’s income, expenditure, volunteer numbers, and more.
This report can also be found on the Charities Register, along with prior years’ reports.
You can view the 2023 Financial Report in its entirety or as a summarised version.
How to give
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Debit / Credit Card
Give a one off gift or set up a recurring payment via Pushpay
Give now -
Online banking
Account number:
12-3157-0083012-00
Particulars: Your full name
Code: Your tithe number
Reference: Tithe -
The Offering
Account number:
12-3157-0083012-04
Particulars: Your full name
Code: Your tithe number
Reference: Offering 24
Refund policy
All requests for donation refunds will be at the discretion of ARISE. In deciding whether a refund can be facilitated, the donation(s) in question will be assessed to determine whether it/they have already been applied to a charitable purpose.
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like to request a tithe number, you can email us at finance@arisechurch.com