PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter
Elizabeth Eisenstadt-Evans | Apr. 7, 2014
PHILADELPHIA After a course correction impelled by decades of often secretive financial management decisions and an embezzlement crisis, the Philadelphia archdiocese is making progress toward tackling a chronic operating deficit and meeting its financial obligations.
In one sign of contrast with prior administrations, the archdiocese has begun to provide public, audited financial statements that reveal the magnitude of the task facing its chief financial officer.
“I think we’re in the process of turning the corner, but it’s a big corner,” said CFO Tim O’Shaughnessy, who came on board in April 2012. Archbishop Charles Chaput, who arrived in 2011, has charged O’Shaughnessy with getting the archdiocese’s financial house in order after former CFO Anita Guzzardi was charged with embezzling more than $900,000. In August 2012, she was sentenced to serve two to seven years in state prison for the theft.
In the fiscal year 2013, the Office of Financial Services, which provides administrative and program support for parishes, schools and other archdiocesan-related groups, incurred a $4.9 million recurring loss. That’s a substantial reduction from the previous year, when the “core deficit” (a number that doesn’t take into account one-time income and expenses) was $17.6 million.
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