Accountability Report

This highlights the financial status of the diocese for the 2018 fiscal year.  In the December 22 edition of The Catholic Moment, we published a graphical representation of our 2018 spending.  Those graphs, as well as the full accountability report and audited financial reports for the last three years can be found online at https://dol-in.org/administration-1.

This report also demonstrats your generosity to the diocese, our parishes and our schools.  Your support of the local Church allowed us to accomplish many good works across the diocese as well as for the Universal Church and made it possible to assist our parishes and schools in many ways.
 
Before jumping into the numbers, I would like to mention the wonderful people that help me to accomplish my ministry.  We are blessed with talented individuals on our staff, including Jan Brandmeyer, Administrative Assistant, Robin Caldanaro, Controller (St. Charles Otterbein), Andy Guljas, Facilities Management Coordinator (St. Thomas Aquinas), Amy Lucas, Staff Accountant (St. Thomas Aquinas), Kent Mikesell, Maintenance Supervisor, Sandi Patel, Administrative Coordinator (St. Matthew in Indianapolis) and Becky Schrader (Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception). 
 
We are likewise blessed with many talented volunteers who help guide the Bishop and me in making sound decisions.  The volunteers on our Diocesan Finance Council include Leo Dierckman (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), Lynn Layden, Marianne McLean (Sacred Heart of Jesus), Tom Parent (St. Thomas Aquinas), Mary Piantek (St. Thomas Aquinas) and Karla Schlichte (St. Maria Goretti).  Bishop Timothy Doherty, Father Ted Dudzinski, Diocesan Vicar General, and I also serve on the finance council.   Likewise, the diocese is blessed to have talented volunteers on our Audit Committee including Lynn Layden, Patricia Radlick (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), Julie Shewmaker (Our Lady of Mount Carmel), and Karla Schlichte (St. Maria Goretti) and on our Investment Committee including Leo Dierckman (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel), Lee Snider (St. Mary Muncie) and Bill Gettings (St. Boniface).
 
2018 Financial Highlights
The economic situation of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana is good.  The ordinary resources including current assets are sufficient to meet the needs of the diocese, the parishes within the diocese and our Diocesan Foundation.
 
Your contributions to the diocese through Fruitful Harvest 2016 which ended in 2018 were $8,572,880.  Your contributions for our seminarian fund appeal were $497,143 in 2018. A majority of the contributions to the diocese outside of Fruitful Harvest and the Seminarian Fund Appeal Campaign arrived as restricted gifts into the Lafayette Diocesan Foundation, Inc., a separate charitable organization.  Links to the audited financial statements of the Foundation for the last two years can be found online at https://dol-in.org/lafayette-diocesan-foundation-endowment-list.
 
In 2018, the diocese had assets of $49,131,265; down $9,052,804 from 2017.  The liabilities were $14,723,603; up $83,470 from 2017.  In 2018 the diocese had revenue of $19,576,254 and expenses of $29,014,874.  The diocese used $7,292,774 in cash to fund our operations.  Looking at self-reported figures for the 61 parishes within the diocese in 2018, they had $199,468,024 in assets and $14,767,010 in liabilities.  The parishes had $62,979,243 in income and $60,308,255 in expenses. 
 
While the economic status of the diocese is good, 2018 was financially challenging due to three events.  These three events resulted in a $9.2 million loss.  First, like most entities in 2018, we had a drop in our return on investments due to negative market activity.  Second, we recorded a loss of $5,029,147 for the Saint Joseph Retreat & Conference Center to reflect the market value of the center.  And third, as recommended by our Diocesan Finance Council, we invested $5 million in our lay employee pension plan to make significant improvements to its funded status.  The Office of Administration and Diocesan Finance Council viewed this as a very positive and needed investment although it impacted our loss in 2018.
 
By far, the largest area of expenses for the diocese was the $2.92 million in rebates and dovetail payments that were returned to the parishes through Fruitful Harvest for parish projects and parish ministries.  The second largest area of spending for the diocese, representing 30% of the Fruitful Harvest funds the diocese retained, was ministries including schools, colleges, family life, Hispanic ministries, the permanent deaconate and others.
 
Like other organizations, the diocese has had incidents of misconduct and abuse with adults and children.  This included counseling, settlements, legal representation, incident reporting, and payroll/insurance for credibly accused staff and clergy.  The table below shows what the diocese spent in victim care and abuse resolution costs for the last six years:
   
Bishop Doherty has directed that from 2019 forward no donor dollars should be spent on misconduct or abuse in the church.
 
Audit
Every year the diocese is scrutinized by outside independent auditors.  In 2018, Greenwalt of Indianapolis performed the audit.  As in previous years, an unqualified audit was issued.  To receive an unqualified audit means that our financial statements are fairly and appropriately presented, without any identified exceptions, and are in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.
 
Investments
Our investments were overseen by AON.  AON monitored the performance of our investment managers and ensured that the investments adhered to the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Social Responsibility guidelines.  AON also followed the investment policies as developed by the Diocesan Investment Committee. 
 
As I’m sure you’ll agree, 2018 was both challenging and rewarding.  And, as in the past, our results illustrated that the Catholics of our diocese were not only very generous but also united in the heart of Jesus Christ.
 
 
Matt McKillip
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of Administration