Wednesday, April 1, 2009

what's going on with our money? (tammy)

hello, brothers and sisters!

I am putting on my treasurer's hat and will use this blog entry as an FAQ for a few of the financial issues that have been going on this semester. If you have any other questions or concerns, leave a comment or email me at yummm.spaghetti@gmail.com.

What are some of the treasurer's responsibilities?
  • Take an open book exam & practical exam from studying the treasurer's handbook provided by the SA

  • Handle all financial forms and procedures related to the SA chartered group (fundraiser prior approval forms, budget request form, budget appeal form, religious prior approval forms, prior approval forms, vouchers for reimbursements, etc.), of which there are MANY.

  • Keep a tight record of all expenses and income

  • Take care of fundraisers

  • Fill out all forms in an efficient, proper manner

  • Attend all treasurers' meetings

  • Keep track of allotted SA account
  • Check the IVCF SA mailbox every day
I never really heard much about our group's money before. Why are there all of a sudden so many issues with our SA account?
  • With our group growing tremendously, we need the funds so we can afford to hold events, reach out to our campus, and tell others about the gospel and about our group in creative ways without having to reach into our pockets.

  • In the past, our group has been wary about SA finances and have been taking care of IVCF's account with as little SA involvement as possible. We'd like to take more of a stand and build a good financial account and relationship with the SA.
What's the difference between a "budget appeal" and a "budget request"?
  • The budget request happens every spring semester, where the treasurer has to fill out a form, requesting the SA to allocate money for our fellowship for the entire next school year.

  • After the request approval, the SA gives a date, time, and place where the e-board has five minutes to present their case to the Vice President of Finance (VPF) and Financial Council (FinCo) of why they should be given a certain amount of money, and five minutes of Q & A.

  • After all the student groups have presented, the VPF and FinCo allot budgeted amounts to each group and posts it up in the SA office.

  • A student group can then make a budget appeal to argue what the VPF and FinCo allotted to request more money. the process is the same as that of a budget request except the group is given three minutes to present and three minutes of Q & A

How much money did we receive from the SA for this entire 2008-2009 year?
$300

How much money did we receive from the SA for the entire 2009-2010 year?
$600

How much money do we have in our account now?


Right now we have $2,630 in our account because all expenses from this semester have not been subtracted. We accumulated funds from our service auctions and rollover money from last spring.

Why is it taking so long for my reimbursements to come back to me?

This is how the process works:

  • A religious prior approval form for the expense has to be submitted.

  • The treasurer has to wait for that form to be approved by the VPF, who goes through these forms once a week.

  • Once those approval forms are approved, the treasurer needs to fill out a voucher form.

  • The voucher then has to have the receipts attached, with the signature of the person being reimbursed.

  • Then after the voucher and form are submitted, the treasurer has to wait for the yellow slip to be in the IVCF mailbox to then tell the person that he/she has to pick up the check from the Couper Administration Building or have it sent to them to receive their reimbursement check.

What are the plans for our 2009-2010 year?

Right now I don't have details, but here are a few general things/ideas:

  • There will definitely be a system/process set up so that I can keep control of the expenses of our group. It will probably be a form that people will have to fill out for me before they buy something.

  • I will probably hold office hours next semester (so cool, right? I know! It was Carrie Moorhead's idea) so that I can make myself available to the fellowship members, answer any questions, and set aside some time for me to focus on just fulfilling some administrative duties.
  • I will meet with the new VPF to talk about our shaky financial standing and how we can get onto a path of good financial standing.

Once I figure out some more details and processes, I'll post them up.

I hope this was helpful!