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Procedures for Finance

Procedures

Finance Committee

September 25, 2015

Charge: Provide financial oversight for the organization in the areas of budgeting and financial planning, financial reporting, and the creation and monitoring of internal controls and accountability policies.

Optimal number of members: at least 2 from the membership

Responsibilities:

Goals:

Budgeting and Financial Planning

Effective finance committees fully engage in an annualized budgeting process in cooperation with the Executive Director and Bookkeeper. Develop an annual operating budget with staff and committee chairs.

Investments

Reporting

MassCUE requires staff to provide highly contextual reports clearly communicating the organization’s financial and cash position, its adherence to the budget, its allocation of resources toward the accomplishment of its mission, and its support of any donor-imposed restrictions on contributions. Having a predetermined list of reporting expectations permits staff to allocate enough time to produce accurate, high quality reports and not be caught off guard by ad hoc requests. In addition, these reports should help to focus the board’s discussion about expected outcomes and potential strategies for overcoming setbacks or changes in the financial environment.

Internal Controls and Accountability Policies

Although the entire board carries fiduciary responsibility for the organization, the finance committee serves a leadership role in this area, making sure appropriate internal control procedures for all financial transactions are documented in a manual and followed by staff.

Other Policies

The Finance committee should work with the Executive Director to insure compliance and/or developing other policies that further serve to protect the organization and manage its exposure to risk. These include establishing and recommending policies surrounding:

Audits

Annotated Timeline: (date, action, responsibility)

An annualized committee task list is a useful tool for organizing the committee’s work.

Calendar / Timeframe Tasks
August Review and continue to oversee financial ebb and flow in collaboration with Conference Committee.
November Review the financial policies of the organization. Research and write additional ones and/or revise existing ones. Recommend them to the Board for approval. Work with Bylaws, Policies and Procedures Committee and all Committee Chairs to review and update Committee Procedures.
December Collaborate with Development and Outreach Committee on revenue raising
February Review governmental and legal filing deadlines for compliance
March Coordinate a budget workshop to assist committee chairs in completing their  committee budget for the following year
April Be the “advance” team for the next year’s operating budget, through reviewing, and bringing forth recommendations to the Board for approval Provide the budget to all committee chairs for final review
May Regularly review employee compensation rates and recommend revisions for Board approval Present the budget to the board of directors for approval
June Work with the Executive Director in completing the Audit process Review internal report deadlines for compliance Insure that the approved budget is entered into the financial software for the upcoming year