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duties in less than two hours, rarely needing more than five.
Reflecting on the tabulated results, the Diocesan Secretary
commented that eleven was certainly not the maximum number of bank
accounts held by a parish. He knew of one which formerly had hundreds,
"an account for every legacy ... since the year 1700"(C4) but which was
reduced to thirty when the retiring treasurer was forced to acknowledge
that volume as a cause of his difficulty in finding a successor. That
such practices should be occurring does suggest that there is much to
be learned from further enquiry at the parochial level.
The Diocese incidentally, operates only three bank accounts, des-
pite having some six or seven hundred trusts.
2.5.3
Detailed comment on numerate questions
2.5.3.1 - A1 -
How long a treasurer?
Half of those who responded came in the 1-5 years bracket, with
the next largest group being the one-third who said 'over 10 years'.
It seems that a treasurer once appointed tends to keep his position for
a lengthy period of time.
2.5.3.2 - A2 -
Qualified?
Three-quarters are not qualified which may have relevance to the
quality of parochial accounting, but it should be remembered that many
parishes (though probably not as many as three-quarters) are small and
their accounting needs likely to be simple.
2.5.3.3 - A3 -
How long per week on treasurer's duties?
The job is evidently not onerous - half the treasurers had com-
pleted their duties within two hours and only three needed more than
five .
