2. Monthly cheque register report — a detailed listing of bank account transactions that supports the financial statements The primary users of these reports are the council executives and members of your specialist councils. All of the above can be easily printed from QuickBooks. A QuickBooks training session is part of the treasurer orientation provided by the Association accountant for subgroup services, upon request. Please see the next page for a brief description of the financial statements and standard report templates.  ANNUAL REPORTING The annual financial report includes the following: Specialist council report and audit — see full description on pages 5 and 6. The primary user of this report is the Association. Annual General Meeting (AGM) financial report — consists of information on the past, present and future financial position of the council, is presented to and approved by the general membership at the AGM. Past — financial statements for the fiscal year that just ended. For example, if the AGM occurs in September of each year, the financial statements should cover the period of July of the previous year to June of the current year. Present — year-to-date financial statements for the current fiscal year. For example, if the AGM occurs in November of each year, the financial statements should cover the period of July to October of the current year. Future — the budget for the next fiscal year. Please see the detailed discussion on the budgeting process and the budget template on 20–23. Reporting requirements for regionals As discussed on page 2, regionals should provide a financial report to the council at each executive meeting.
Budget 1. Each council is required by its constitution to prepare an annual budget for presentation to its annual meeting. 2. A budget is basically a financial statement based on predictions rather than on facts and is a tool that should be used to direct the activities of any organization in a planned, orderly manner. A budget translates the proposed programs of an organization into monetary terms. 3. Proper preparation and use of a budget may prevent unpleasant surprises when attempting to allocate financial resources over an entire year’s program. 4. Preparation of a simple budget requires answering the following questions: a) What revenue can be anticipated during the year? b) What programs will be undertaken during the year? c) What is the likely cost of these programs? d) Will anticipated revenue cover the cost of these programs? If not, should some programs be dropped or should an attempt be made to increase revenue? What happens if anticipated revenue is insufficient to cover the projected costs of programs? If the organization has any surplus from past years, it may choose to use that surplus to fund current programs. However, using accumulated surplus to fund yearly operations should only be considered in extraordinary circumstances. The budget should provide for a surplus or breakeven result for the period of the budget unless there is a good reason to do otherwise. Consistently budgeting a deficit and covering the shortfall with past years’ savings is not effective financial planning. It will result in spending beyond the organization’s ability to generate revenue and eventually deplete the surplus. Once these questions have been answered and the dollar figures determined, it is important to periodically compare the budget to actual and, if necessary, to supplement the budget with a forecast during the year to reflect events that were not anticipated at the time the original budget was prepared. The preparation of the budget is a joint responsibility of the executive. While the treasurer may assemble the document in final form, the executive members must provide input to determine what activities the council will undertake during the year. The executive must assume ownership of the budget and portray it as a proposal from the executive rather than as a document prepared by the treasurer.