Kenichi Furukawa, OMI – My main job is accounting. However, due to a shortage of staff in Japan, I also serve as kindergarten principal and parish administrator. I’ve always asked for a reduction in my responsibilities, but it’s still being postponed.
I’ll explain specifically what I do. First, I add up the financial reports submitted by members at the end of the month for each Oblate district. Based on these summaries, I create journal entries to submit to the accounting center in Japan.
I don’t just do monthly reports. I also prepare budgets and financial statements once a year.
I also create accounting forms so members can submit their financial reports for the entire year. I handle car insurance, life insurance, and fire insurance, and handle financial procedures with Rome.
Written like this, it might seem like an easy job.
In reality, there are many difficult aspects. Member reports frequently lack details on the sender and the subsequent destination, requiring me to investigate further.
Some members also don’t prepare their budgets. There are gaps in the records and mistakes. However, this feeling is mutual, and I make mistakes too. I know that humans are imperfect and only God is perfect. However, there are times when I feel like quitting this job.
This is because unkind members sometimes say negative things about me, such as that I have a boring job. Whenever I hear these statements, I question whether a priest truly needs to perform this role.
However, there is no doubt that someone in the order has to do it. When it comes to missionary work, money doesn’t fall from the sky, and economic trends cannot be ignored.
Still, I am able to continue because there are members who help me, despite my poor language skills. They are always helping me with communications with overseas organizations such as Rome. I am grateful to each and every one of them.
This is the biggest problem. It is not good for one person to be the treasurer for too long. Looking at media reports these days, there are many cases of embezzlement and other temptations for treasurers to commit fraud.
It is not good for the Order if only one person knows the accounting situation and the others only have a vague understanding. That is why we need to prepare the next accountant.
I have a bookkeeping qualification, so it was easy to take over, but it took me years to learn to do the job alone. This is not a job that can be taken over in a day.
Therefore, I believe it is essential for young religious individuals to gain practical experience through hands-on learning. I think we need to think seriously about the future. Thank you for reading this article.
