On June 17-20, 2024, CADFO (Conference of Antilles Diocesan Fiscal Officers) held its 2024 Conference in the Diocese of Mandeville, Jamaica, under the theme: The Mission of Finance Officers in a Synodal Church. The last in-person Conference had taken place in 2018 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, although a Conference was also held via Zoom in May 2022.
The event was a collaborative effort between the Diocese of Kingston and the Diocese of Mandeville. It began, appropriately, with Holy Mass being celebrated by Bishop John D. Persaud, Bishop of Mandeville. at the chapel of the Dunsinane National Marian Shrine, in Dunsinane, Hatfield which is located on the outskirts of the town of Mandeville. The participants were also housed in a residence that is located on the same property.
The next morning began once again with the celebration of Mass, followed by words of Welcome from Archbishop Patrick Pinder, S.T.D., C.M.G., Bishop of Nassau and Episcopal Moderator of CADFO. After breakfast, Fr. Don Chambers, AEC General Secretary, spoke about the Diocesan Fiscal Officer and the Synodal Journey, then guided participants in Conversation in the Spirit.
Bishop John D. Persaud outlined to the Finance Officers their Role and Duties according to Canon Law. This was followed by a presentation on Ordinary Major Importance and Extra-Ordinary Acts of Administration. The first full day ended with evening prayer in the chapel.
Roland Kissoon was Wednesday morning’s guest speaker. A Trinidadian cyber-security expert, he joined from Florida via Zoom. His presentation was filled with practical and useful advice on how to increase cyber security. He gave simple but important suggestions like creating more secure passwords by using non-dictionary words (local Caribbean slang is excellent for this), and longer phrases that are nonetheless easily remembered by the user, as these are more difficult to hack.
Mr. Kissoon was such a mine of information that his one and a half hour presentation left participants wanting even more.
Mr. Paul Bitter, retired Insurance expert, shared frankly from his wealth of knowledge on Risk Management and Insurance. Participants were left with a good overview of the topic, and a better understanding of how to evaluate the value of obtaining different types of insurance in various circumstances.
Bishop Neil Scantlebury, Bishop of Barbados, celebrated Mass at midday.
Mr. Rohan Brown, Manager of the Weather Services from the local Metereological Office, and Mrs. Joyce Reynolds-Robinson, Information Officer from the ODPEM (Office of Disaster and Emergency Management) spoke about hurricanes and earthquakes and how to prepare for them.
The Business Meeting was held with nominations and elections for two executive posts. The executive body remained unchanged at the end of the evening, with Jose Ortez (Diocese of Belize City & Belmopan) as president, Gilbert Sankar (Diocese of Port-of-Spain) as vice-president, Shanta Colebrooke (Diocese of Nassau) as Treasurer and Theresa Chin-Givans (Diocese of Mandeville) as secretary. Special thanks were conveyed to Deacon Clive Chambers (Archdiocese of Kingston) who has continued to give strong support to the executive, and to Renee Knowles (Diocese of Nassau), who although not present, has provided continuing invaluable support to CADFO.
The final day saw Laurene Augier, Chartered Accountant and expert in Finance, explaining the importance of Best Practices and Accountability, and discussing the use of IFRS for SME’s as an Accounting standard. After Mass and lunch, members finally got the opportunity to travel to the beach where they had a relaxing evening enjoying fresh seafood with festival and bammy, typical Jamaican fare.
