News

Goldline Research Selects ChurchShield as a Leading Accounting Professional

ChurchShield, LLC was recently selected as one of the Leading Accounting Professionals in the United States for 2009. ChurchShield was chosen to receive this prestigious designation from the many thousands of accounting firms in the country. Goldline Research is an independent firm specializing in the evaluation of professional services providers. Ryan Kluft, President of Goldline Research, stated, “Those firms that ultimately earn Goldline Research’s designation show that they have the characteristics that are essential for continued success and leadership in the market. This designation indicates that ChurchShield, LLC has demonstrated a commitment to client service that is unparalleled in the industry. By selecting ChurchShield, LLC as your accounting provider, we believe that you have selected one of the leading accounting firms in the United States.” The award announcement was published in the October 2009 issue of Forbes magazine.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT

ChurchShield partners with Lakewood Church to change Texas legislature

ChurchShield recently partnered with Lakewood Church (Pastor Joel Osteen) to change legislation in Texas. Texas law required the majority of church committee members to also be board members. Lakewood Church asked the Texas legislature to change this law so that church committees could be made up of whomever the church thought was best to serve. After four months of effort, Texas legislature agreed to give churches this freedom. The bill (HB4103) went into law on June 22, 2009. This is a success for all churches across Texas.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE BILL

IRS proposes to raise the rank of the official initiating church tax inquiries

Following a setback in federal court earlier this year, the Treasury and the IRS have proposed to amend their regulations to reassign authority within the IRS to approve various aspects of church tax inquiries and examinations. The proposed regulations were published in the August 5, 2009 issue of the Federal Register. In the proposed regulations, Treasury and the IRS have nominated the Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS as the "appropriate high-level Treasury official" to serve as the gatekeeper for initiating church tax inquiries, apparently reversing their previous litigating position that the Director of Exempt Organizations Examinations is an appropriately high-level official.

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American Council on Churches develops website for 7611 news

On January 30, 2009, David Epstein and Marc Owens (the former Exempt Organizations Commissioner) worked alongside a local law firm in Minneapolis to win a record court case for churches. Following this victory, only two high ranking IRS officials are constitutionally permitted to authorize a church audit, thus further protecting churches from an IRS audit. Since this decision, the IRS has introduced proposed regulations that would allow certain bypasses of the January 30^th decision. The proposed regulations are being closed for comment in November, so unfortunately, there is a very limited window of time to act. The American Council on Churches (ACOC) created a website for the latest information on 7611 developments. The website below addresses all of the information in greater detail and should provide deeper insight.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ACOC WEBSITE

Pam Schavey serves as a guest speaker at many church conferences

The following list is Pam's 2009 calendar for speaking engagements:

Christian Faith Fellowship Church Waukegan (Zion, Illinois) - April 16, 2009
Christian Faith Fellowship Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) - May 30, 2009
Champions Centre (Bellevue, Washington) - August 4-5, 2009

If you are interested in having Pam Schavey speak at your next church conference, please contact our office at (317) 570-9573 to make arrangements.

Pam Schavey serves as a contributing author for Ministry Today magazine

Pam Schavey is a regular contributing author for Ministry Today magazine, a print and online magazine serving rising leaders within the church.

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