By Roberta Lauzon Treasurer & Compliance Officer Accounting 101….

 Support Committee responsibilities and obligations to the League – review of the Bylaws  Reporting to the League  Implementing proper policies & procedures  Financial statement preparation  Budgets

 The Executive shall be the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer  The Chairperson shall be responsible for directing the affairs of the Support Committee and shall communicate on behalf of the Support Committee with the Commanding Officer  The Vice-Chairperson shall act for, and preside all meetings of the Support Committee, in the absence of the Chairperson.  The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Support Committee and keep minutes, correspondence on behalf of the Support committee, give notice of meetings and discharge such other duties that may be required from time to time by the Support committee. THE SUPPORT COMMITTEE THE EXECUTIVE

 The Treasurer shall maintain an up-to-date record of all financial transactions in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles and for such internal control as the treasurer determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Treasurer shall prepare financial statements on a monthly basis for review by the Support Committee and prepare a yearend financial to the army Cadet League of Canada (Ontario) by October 31st.  If any Office or Position on the Executive Committee should become vacant, such Office or Position shall be filled by resolution of the Committee  An Annual Meeting of the Support Committee shall be held each year between June and September at which time the Executive Members shall be elected and the Annual Financial Statements approved THE SUPPORT COMMITTEE THE EXECUTIVE Continued…

 Support Committee Constitution and by-laws. This is a document issued by the Army Cadet League of Ontario. Everyone who is elected to sit on the committee must be given a copy to read and acknowledge  The Support Committee is Responsible and accountable for the non public funds and must manage them appropriately. Keep in mind that the funds do not belong to the committee, but to the Cadets  Officers of the Cadet Corps must not handle the Corps funds  The CO is an ex officer member of the committee and does not vote on the funds, but the committee should keep in mind that the CO knows the needs of the Cadets and what training or equipment is needed for the training year  The Commanding Officer shall be provided with a commanding officer’s account to look after small routine disbursements. If the fund is used up, it will be replenished based on a statement and attached receipts for monies expended, provided by the Commanding Officer. Petty cash amounts shall be amounts less than $  A budget must be created at the beginning of each training year in consultation with the Commanding Officer  A request for funds form or cheque requisition should be completed each time a cheque is written. This will give the detail and breakdown for the funds as well as supply a good paper trail. The receipts should be attached.  There should be 2 – 3 signing officials (not related)

 No blank cheques should ever be issued  If any there is any fund raising activities involving lotteries, bingo, raffle or other activities subject to regulations by the Ontario Gaming Commissions a separate bank account must be opened and shall be maintained for each lottery activity.  If the Chairperson of the Support Committee quits, a new chair should be elected and the Liaison Officer should assist with the election  It is mandatory that a financial statement along with the year end bank statement be sent to the League office annually not later than October 31. This is the job of the Support Committee not the Commanding Officer  If possible an audit should be conducted annually, over the summer months by someone at arms length from the Corps with knowledge of bookkeeping  The League office is conducting spot audits annually to ensure that the finances are well maintained – Compliance  An inventory list of items purchased with Corps or sponsor funds (excluding DND equipment) must be reviewed annually and a copy sent to the League office  Support Committee members and Liaison Officers are volunteers and do not receive a salary or remuneration  Some Committees do reimburse members for travel expenses, but that is entirely up to them and this should be agreed upon in advance  HST/GST Charitable number. Each Corps can apply for their own but then they are responsible to remit and report to Revenue Canada yearly

 The official year end is August 31. Each training year will run from September 1 through to August 31.  Statements must be reviewed by your Treasurer upon year end and all supporting documents must be available for possible audit from the League and/or committee  The League has the right to complete an audit on any Corps as it sees fit. Spot audits are already happening  The League Liaison will be asking to see your financial statements so they have to be up to date and current  Financial statements must be produced to the League for the year end  Statements must be printed and sent into the League by October 31  Cadet Summary report  Copy of the August bank statement and reconciliation report that balances to your report  List of all equipment on hand, detail when purchased and for what purpose with cost value and supporting receipts for that year  A narrative summary of the Corps revenue and expenses  A copy of your year end statements must be displayed within your Corps for everyone to see  A copy of your year end must be given to your CO and reviewed with your committee  It is mandatory that all documents are filed and kept in a organized fashion for easy access

 Policies & Procedures are simply rules or guidelines to add structure to an organization  There can be forms in order to assist you with your guidelines  They are made to make your organization operate smoothly  These “guidelines” need to be written out and agreed to within your group  They can be changed and/or updated  How to handle cash is good example  Cash has to be tracked with care  Can be for new members  Newly created Corps

 Cash Management is vital for internal control  Sloppy approaches to cash management can lead to temptation. People handling a significant amount of cash carry the greatest opportunity for fraud or abuse. Cash handling procedures are used to minimize cash handling risks. Multiple cash counts by different people make a great foundation for good cash controls  For example, the same person who handles the money should not be the one accounting for it. Cash funds should be counted often and by at least two people. Different people should handle cash, checks and deposits from those who record them in the books.  Proper internal controls using cash policies and procedures that are clearly communicated and regularly audited internally will minimize any loss of cash within your organization

Army Cadet League of Ontario Website :

 Cash on hand has to reconcile to the cash in your bank at the end of the month  Any other accounts you may have must have supporting documents showing what is in each account and why  All statements must be easily accessible for audit purposes Balance Sheet

Income Statement  All income must have supporting documents showing how the funds were obtained  All expenses must be tracked and allocated appropriately  Expenses should have categories that mean something to the Corps for easy tracking  Each expense account must have the proper supporting documents to back up the expense  Having the ability to look at year over year is a good way to see if your expenses are on track and makes it easy to explain why when they are different  For every expense category an explanation must be readily available

 Every Corps MUST report to the league on an annual basis  Not every Corps has the proper software on hand  Created an easy setup in Excel

 Look at last year’s spending  Find out what expenses are going to be for this year  Ask questions to your committee and CO: 1) What are the requirements for the Cadet Corps this year? 2) Ask your CO and see what they have planned for the year 3) Are there going to be any trips? To where and what are the costs? 4) Will there be any additional functions through the year 5) Are there any other large purchases needed i.e. equipment or supplies? What are they for? 6) What are your monthly expenses? Utilities, rent, phone costs 7) Break your Corps down by departments and see what the needs are for each – ie Band, Rifle Team

First person who can provide me the following 2 things a support committee SHOULD NEVER DO 2 things a support committee is SUPPOSED TO DO 2 NEW procedures that you are going to implement in your Corps