Reeks 2 - Records of the Treasurer and Department of the Treasury

• Textual record
• Graphic material

4 m of textual records and other materials.

From 1925 the finances of the Church were supervised by the Treasurer, acting also as Secretary of the Finance Committee of General Council. When the Board of Finance was created in 1942, a Department of the Treasury was established as one of three departments. Its functions included accounting, banking, and investing the funds of the United Church, administration of property not controlled by other Divisions, action with regard to bequests, gifts and annuities, and all other financial operations normally associated with a treasury.

When the position of Board Secretary was created in 1963, some duties of financial supervision such as budget preparation were assumed from the Treasurer's position to the new office. The Department of the Treasury continued to function as the business office of the Church under the Treasurer, until this office was replaced by a Director of Financial Services in 1996. In 2001, the units in the General Council Office of the United Church underwent a massive restructuring process. The duties of the Treasury Department became part of “Financial Services” which reflected a more integrated approach. The Permanent Committee on Finance, a committee of the General Council, was also created and is responsible for overseeing and monitoring the financial life and policies of the General Council, including assets, income, expenditures, considerations of its short-and long-term financial issues, risk management, and investment and fund management; overseeing long-term financial planning of the General Council, recommending the overall expenditure and income budgets to the Executive; monitoring income, expenditures, assets, liabilities and capital initiatives and reporting them regularly to the Executive and recommending financial strategies. In 2009, Financial Services became the Finance Department and Stewardship Services work was transferred to the newly created Philanthropy Unit.

The Treasurers were Robert Laird, 1925-1940; Victor T. Mooney, 1943-1963; Harold L. Arnup, 1963-1966; Douglas N. Borgal, 1966-1977; William R. Davis, 1978-1983; and Kenneth H. Ward, 1984-1991, John R. Page, 1991-1992, Janet Lewis, 1994-1996. In 1996, a new position, Director of Financial Services, was created. Directors of Financial Services were Steven R. Adams, 1996-1998; and Linda C. Cottrell, 1998-2001.

Series consists of the following subseries: 1) Minutes of Annual and Executive meetings, 1943-1994; 2) Audited financial statements and reports, 1925-2000; 3) Treasurer's reports, 1926-1983; 4) Treasurer’s Budget Files, 1938-1963; 5) General correspondence/specific subject files of Treasurer/Department of the Treasury, 1926-2015; 6) Records relating to land use planning for St. Clair Avenue area, Toronto, 1962-1985; 7) Records relating to Ryerson Press, 1968-1977; 8) Records relating to Dr. Robert McClure's fund-raising for overseas relief, 1969-1984; 9) Records of committees relating to management of national office personnel and building, 1954-1994; 10) Records of committees relating to information technologies in national office, 1980-1997; 11) Records of Investment Committee and its Proxy Sub-Committee, 1953-2017; 12) Records relating to interchurch cooperation on legal, financial and taxation issues, 1931-1990; 13) Records relating to Insurance, Property and Risk Management, 1937-1997.