17 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 17.7.0.0 7 FINANCE 0 0 04/15/88 Reissued Section 1 of 1 Council (02/24/78) Council (10/26 & 30/87) BYLAW 7. SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS Section 7. Finance. The responsibility for collecting, holding, and disbursing funds is delegated to all SIGs under the terms of a Financial Accountability Policy agreed upon by the Board and the EC. Should there be disagreement on the interpretation of such a policy, the EC interpretation will prevail unless changed by Council. All SIG funds are the property of ACM. Should a SIG be dissolved, its funds will be supervised by the Board. The SIGs collectively will be financially self-supporting in accordance with the Financial Accountability Policy. SIG collective fund balances, beyond any required reserves, may be used for non-SIG ACM activities only with the approval of the Board, or of two-thirds of all members of Council. 17 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 17.7.1.0 7 FINANCE 1 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY 0 04/15/88 Reissued Subsection 1 of 2 Executive Committee (02/18 & 19/87) 1. Guiding Principles 1.1 Policy 1.1.1 All monies held by SIGs may be used only for ACM business. 1.1.2 Every SIG must maintain a positive Fund Balance. 1.1.3 Except for Conference Accounts, which are governed according to Policy and Procedures 8.7.2.0, no SIG shall maintain an account outside of ACM Headquarters, unless explicitly approved by the SIG Board. 1.1.4 Each SIG must suitably account for all monies received and disbursed. This accounting shall include filing an approved budget, which shall consist of a proposed budget for the next fiscal year and forecasts for the two subsequent fiscal years, at the time specified by the officers of the ACM. No unbudgeted funds shall be spent without prior approval of the SIG Board, whether such funds are held at ACM Headquarters or in an outside account. Budgeted monies shall be spent only if all required approvals have been obtained. 1.1.5 Each year each SIG shall report the state of its finances to its membership. This report shall include a breakdown of income and expenses itemized as in the budget prepared for that year. 1.1.6 The sum of the Fund Balances of all SIGs must adhere to the ACM Measures of Financial Stability, as approved by ACM Council. 1.1.7 Approval of a three year budget shall constitute approval to operate for the first year only. Budgets (forecasts) for the second and third years must be refined and resubmitted in subsequent budgeting activities. 1.1.8 Officers Services are defined to be reimbursement for travel and subsistence, secretarial support, communication costs, and other costs associated with running the SIG, exclusive of costs associated with conference and newsletter activities. Expenditures for Officers Services shall be restricted to a reasonable percentage of total budgeted nonconference expenses. As a guideline, Officer Services budgeted in excess of 25% of the total (non-conference) budget, shall require written justification, but shall be approved if deemed in the best interest of the viability of the SIG. 17 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 17.7.1.0 7 FINANCE 1 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY POLICY 0 04/15/88 Reissued Subsection 2 of 2 1.2 Procedures 1.2.1 The budget should include all expenditures expected in each line item for each of three successive years. Furthermore, the SIGs, collectively, shall adhere to the Policy on Managing SIG Budgets, Policy and Procedures 17.7.2.0. Funds budgeted but unspent for one line item may be spent elsewhere, at the discretion of the SIG Chairman, provided doing so does not conflict with other requirements of this policy/procedure. 1.2.2 Accounting for all SIG funds shall be done at ACM Headquarters. 1.2.3 A SIG's yearly financial reports to its membership shall include, but need not be limited to, a summary of the budget for the next fiscal year and forecasts for the subsequent two years, when they have been approved by the SIG Board, and a report on the financial activity for the past fiscal year, when that information has been made available. This information must be provided to the SIG membership in a timely issue of the newsletter or by a special mailing. 2. Outside Accounts Other than for conference accounts, SIG funds shall not be held outside ACM Headquarters, unless explicitly approved by the SIG Board. As a policy, the SIG Board discourages outside accounts. The SIG Board shall only approve such accounts for a limited time period, and only under the proviso that the SIG Board and the SIG Secretariat at ACM Headquarters shall receive quarterly reports of all account activities. An outside account may be closed at any time, at the discretion of the SIG Board, with any fund balance returned to the appropriate SIG account at ACM Headquarters. 3. Sanctions Failure to comply with the requirements of this policy, after the SIG officers have received notification of noncompliance from the SIG Board, is grounds for recommending to the ACM Executive Committee the removal of the SIG's officers and the impoundment of any monies held in outside accounts. Alternative or additional actions may include A RECOMMENDATION TO THE ACM COUNCIL THAT THE SIG BE DISSOLVED. 17 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS 17.7.2.0 7 FINANCE 2 POLICY ON MANAGING SIG BUDGETS 0 04/15/88 Reissued Subsection 1 of 1 Council (10/22 & 23/75) POLICY ON ADDITIONAL SIG CHARGES New types of charges to the SIGs will not be imposed after budget requests and related instructions have been sent to SIGs. Executive Committee (11/10/84) POLICY ON MANAGING SIG BUDGETS It is the responsibility of each SIG to manage the bottom line of its budget in conformity with the financial stability and accountability policies of ACM. It is the responsibility of the SIG Board to manage the bottom line of the collective SIG budgets in accordance with these same policies. Within these limitations, SIGs may transfer funds between categories of approved budgets and amend approved budgets as follows: Transfers - Funds may be transferred between budget categories as required, so long as the effect of any transfer(s) does not contravene any conditions imposed upon the original approved budget, or prevent an approved budget program from being carried out. Amendments - Approved SIG budgets may be amended subject to the following restrictions: a. The effect of any amendment(s) does not contravene any conditions imposed upon the original approved budget. b. The sources of additional revenue to support any proposed additional expenditures are clearly identified, and c. Approval of any amendment(s) is obtained from both the appropriate Area Director and the SIG Board Financial Advisor. Procedure In any fiscal year the SIG Board is to manage its budget and that of the SIGs collectively so as to achieve the net called for in the budget adopted by Council, except that any unbudgeted expenses in excess of 5% of the approved expense budget must be approved by the Executive Committee.