Financial Review of chapter
Posted on September 2, 2010 by kcarlson | 1 Comment
By Ellen Aaronson, MLS, AHIP, MLGSCA Finance Co-Chair
For the past several months, the Advisory Council (AC) has been exploring the benefits of an external review of our finances. As you know, Alan Carr has been serving as the MLGSCA Internal Auditor since 2006, a role suggested by our previous Financial Advisor. Alan reviews our QuickBooks accounts and reports on our accounting procedures to the AC but it has been about 6 years since we had any type of external input.
At the Advisory Council Budget Meeting in July 2009, our Financial Advisor Heidi White suggested that having an external financial review every 2-3 years would be a good idea for MLGSCA. Ms. White has been our Financial Advisor for several years and is a partner at the VAVRINEK, TRINE, DAY & CO., LLP (VTD) accounting firm.
In light of recent events affecting our finances including the closure of the coupon account and expenditures from the 2010 Joint Meeting, the Advisory Council agreed that it was prudent for us to have an outside evaluation performed. Members of the Finance Committee researched the types of evaluations available, costs, pros and cons, and the value of the deliverables to our organization. Financial evaluations include the compilation (basically just a financial statement prepared by a financial advisor), the review (a more detailed analysis with brief suggestions for improvement), and the audit (exhaustive look at all aspects of the client’s financial activity). The AC felt that the review option would be the most cost effective and provide us with the information we need.
We also contacted Ray Naegele at MLA and were told that other chapters do have Internal Auditors, but chapters are not required to have formal external evaluations performed.
Alan Carr presented these options at the AC meeting in April 2010 and it was agreed that a Financial Review would provide us with an analysis of our accounting practices and suggestions for improvements if needed. The cost of this review will be between $3,200.00-$3,500.00.
At the Transition Meeting on June 30, 2010, the Advisory Council passed a motion in favor of engaging our Financial Advisor Heidi White to perform a Financial Review of our finances. Following the August 6, 2010 Budget Meeting, MLGSCA President Eileen Wakiji sent the approved Transition Meeting minutes authorizing this action to Ms. White, and MLGSCA Treasurer Molly Harrington has sent her the necessary financial documentation. Ms. White will also be interviewing members of our Finance Committee. It is our understanding the review will take about a month once all materials are received.
If you have any questions regarding this activity, please feel free to contact us. We will summarize the results upon the completion of the review.
MLGSCA Finance Committee
Ellen Aaronson & Deborah Klein, co-chairs
Molly Harrington
Lisa Marks
Posted 9/2/10
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One Response to “Financial Review of chapter”
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September 3rd, 2010 @ 12:00 pm
Good summary, Ellen. Many thanks to all involved, especially you and Allen, for getting the review organized. It will be a good learning experience for all of us, and I look forward to reading the documentation and recommendations, if there are any.