Precise account by member of the clergy (8)
I believe the answer is:
accurate
'precise' is the definition.
(I know that precise can be written as accurate)
'account by member of the clergy' is the wordplay.
'account' becomes 'ac' (abbreviation).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'member of the clergy' becomes 'curate' (assistant to a priest).
'ac'+'curate'='ACCURATE'
(Other definitions for accurate that I've seen before include "Bang on" , "strict" , "Correct in all details" , "Meticulous" , "Precise, correct" .)