[1] Within the Catholic Church, this was an issue for bishops and abbots in the Middle Ages as they were often of noble birth and so would often have both property and recognised heirs.
[3] The most important document relating to the inventories of church property is the Motu Proprio, “Provida”, by Sixtus V in 1587.
However, Sixtus still commanded all other Bishops to create an inventory of the property of all the churches and ecclesiastical establishments within their dioceses.
When the term of office ends, the officeholder must hand over to his successor all articles entered in the inventory.
The rise of financial reporting has meant that in many cases this is done through the production and often external auditing of church accounts.