The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

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Professional body

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability

Findings that rest on exhibits naming this entity

  • REL-4.9: The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, founded in 1979, accredits more than 2,700 member churches and ministries that join voluntarily, affirm an evangelical Christian statement of faith and have an independent CPA audit, review or compile their financial statements, and it states that it is not an auditor. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a voluntary diocesan financial reporting resolution under which each suffragan bishop sends his metropolitan archbishop a letter stating that his finance council reviewed audited statements.
  • REL-5.2: In the Senate Finance Committee's July 2008 account, Meyer and Hinn answered all questions, White answered two of the question groups, Copeland answered part of them and none on compensation, Long's reply was "not responsive," and Dollar declined to provide any of the requested information.
  • REL-5.3: The committee's staff did not issue subpoenas to the ministries or to informants. The staff memo of 6 January 2011 gives three reasons: subpoenas to informants would be counterproductive, committee rules require the chairman's participation, and the 2009 health-reform legislation left no time or resources.
  • REL-5.4: The materials released on 6 January 2011 are a minority-staff memorandum to Senator Grassley, not a report adopted by the committee. The memo frames issues for consideration and contains no bill text, and on 5 January 2011 Grassley asked the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability whether the issues can be addressed without legislation.
  • REL-5.5: The staff memo states that four of the six churches refused to provide tax information, so staff could not determine whether and to what extent they report and pay taxes on income earned in related entities, including private airports and aircraft leasing companies.

Exhibits naming this entity

  • Exhibit 429 read 9 November 2026. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship
  • Exhibit 430 read 9 November 2026. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: FAQs: How Does ECFA Accreditation and Member Accountability Work?
  • Exhibit 431 read 9 November 2026. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: ECFA History
  • Exhibit 432 read 9 November 2026. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: ECFA Form 990 (page)
  • Exhibit 443 6 January 2011. U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (ranking member Grassley): Grassley Releases Review of Tax Issues Raised by Media-based Ministries
  • Exhibit 444 6 January 2011. U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, minority staff (Pattara and Barnett): Memorandum to Senator Grassley: Review of Media-Based Ministries (61 pp.)
  • Exhibit 446 5 January 2011. U.S. Senate Committee on Finance: Letter, Grassley to Dan Busby, ECFA
  • Exhibit 451 21 April 2009. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: Letter, ECFA board chair Batts to Senator Grassley
  • Exhibit 452 December 2012. Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations: Enhancing Accountability for the Religious and Broader Nonprofit Sector
  • Exhibit 453 2024 (web page). Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability: Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship