Common Finance System for Dioceses and Archdioceses

Updated 2/22/22

The Roman Catholic Church is organized into dioceses around the world. Dioceses ruled by an archbishop are commonly referred to as archdioceses. In the Washington, DC area, there are more than 655,000 Catholics, 139 parishes, and 92 Catholic schools under the The Archdiocese of Washington.

This structure means that diocesan finances are complex, and can involve dozens or hundreds of reporting entities including parishes, schools, and other diocesan organizations. Adopting a common finance system can simplify reporting, save money on software, maintenance and training, and ensure consistency throughout the diocese.

Here is an example of how a diocese might be organized in terms of reporting entities.

At Serenic we are seeing a growing trend toward standardization of accounting software to simplify tracking and reporting for dioceses and their entities.

Serenic Navigator, powered by Microsoft Business Central, offers an intuitive and easy to use solution for parish and school finance personnel via role-tailored profiles. Serenic Navigator is deployed in the Microsoft cloud, eliminating hardware, backup and upgrade headaches.

Key Benefits

The key benefits of Serenic Navigator Common Finance System include:

Single system of record with real time data across the Diocese, parishes, schools and supporting operations
Cloud delivery for a lower IT burden and maintenance costs,
Cost effective licensing
Guaranteed security and reliability
Safeguards against outages due to natural disasters
Prescriptive implementation services
Core Financials + Deposit and Loan Management
Powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the Industry leading finance/business application platform

· Standard modules

General Ledger with Financial Reporting
Cash Management
Budget Management, specifically, Budget Journal
Payables
Receivables

· Optional modules

Advanced/line Allocations
Requisition and POs
Sales Orders

With the Common Finance System, you can leverage existing in-house Serenic Navigator knowledge while migrating to the latest cloud technology.

The following infographic summarizes the Common Finance System approach:

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