I am a certified public accountant. Together with my son, I have a small localized accounting practice in the Maryland suburbs of our nation’s capitol. Since our operations are rather generalized, covering a range of duties from tax planning and preparation to financial planning and auditing, we have a unique opportunity to meet and work with people in diverse stations of life. We sometimes refer to ourselves as financial doctors. To some, lacking a full understanding of our function, this work may sound mercenary and totally secular.
To the contrary, however, we believe there is a direct relationship between a person’s heart and his wallet. Many are the chances that come our way to assist people struggling with personal and corporate economic difficulties. We can often present remedies by sound budgeting, debt restructuring and avoidance, and even good stewardship. In the area of stewardship we can help two ways: first, we demonstrate how you can reduce your taxes in giving to the Lord’s activities. And, secondly, we can point out that God multiplies our meager resources as we are faithful in returning our tithe to Him.
In a personal way we offer to assist with accounting, computer software, and financial audits for Historic Seventh-day Adventist Churches and the members who require such help. At this writing, I am involved in helping one of these churches who have been investigated for possible failure to pay sales taxes where the state taxing authorities have made certain allegations. Our experience in this area is helping to resolve the matter and show the church to be fully exempt of the sales tax provisions in this case.
Another way we can help the Historic churches is by providing an annual audit. Often criticisms circulate that we are not audited. As we hold CPA licenses this matter can be cared for at a greatly reduced cost to the church. Good accountability enhances good stewardship and faithful giving promotes the Gospel proclamation. This is how we see our work relating to helping prepare a people for the end.
“I saw that there was great inefficiency in the bookkeeping in many departments of the cause. Bookkeeping is, and ever will be, an important part of the work; and those who have become expert in it are greatly needed in our institutions and in all branches of the missionary work. It is a work that requires study that it may be done with correctness and dispatch, and without worry or overtaxation; but the training of competent persons for this work has been shamefully neglected. It is a disgrace to allow a work of such magnitude as ours to be done in a defective, inaccurate way. God wants as perfect work as it is possible for human beings to do. It is a dishonor to sacred truth and its Author to do His work in any other way.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 553.
The End