Candidate Question: Do you support an audit of WGAs finances?

[zuma]

First of all, thank you so much for your willingness to serve on the WGA Board of Directors. Considering the profits made by the WGA by selling merch, and a current bank balance of over $8000, do you think it is wise to pay for an outside audit of the WGA finances?

[CarrieO]

This question made me think quite a bit. A balance of $8000 doesn’t seem like a large amount in need of auditing. Is the board transparent with monthly debits and credits? I’m not familiar with an auditing process, but I would think if an outside firm needed to be hired, it would probably cost several thousand dollars, wiping out a large chunk of that balance. I would question why an audit needed to be done and if so, could it be done pro bono by someone with an accounting or finance background or otherwise familiar with the process. If the BOD had internal questions regarding finances, or, if WGA members brought forth concerns about finances, I would listen openly to concerns and try to reach an agreement with the other BOD members.

[comkelp]

This is a good question! Many associations have dealt with issues regarding finances. I dont know if we’re having any issues, but believe we do need to have the books audited every so often, to keep honest people honest. A question I have is: Could this be done voluntarily within the WGA per a small committee? I’d hope we wouldn’t need to spend big bucks with an outside auditor.

Jeff Grosvold

[jacquendoncody]

Great question.  I am not an accountant by any means but I am on the BOD for my local Lions club and we do have an outside person audit our books on a yearly basis so I would agree to have this done.  Thanks.

[chronicallytiredmom]

It depends in how much it will cost to do an audit of only $8,000.

On the other hand, it would be playing it safe of course to do so.

Chronicallytiredmom

[Jen920]

I’m not familiar with what the cost of an outside audit would be. With the current balance and number of transactions, if transactions and bank accounts are transparent and available for the rest of the board to review, I don’t know that a formal outside audit would be needed. Is there currently a process for a formal internal audit? Are the books tracked in an accounting software or Excel spreadsheet that is available to be reviewed upon request?

The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[AuntieNae]

Happy Sunday Zuma –

I am curious as to what you are thinking in terms of an outside audit? Over the years, the BOD has put processes in place that it sounds like members are not aware of.

1) Monthly Treasurer’s Report – as part of the BOD’s monthly meeting, the Treasure prepares, below is our December 2022 report. It is published with our meeting minutes.

Opening Balance – $8,360.50
Opening Cash Balance – $0.00
Transactions (Exc. Cash) – ($586.00)
Sales – $211.18
Pathtag Transactions – $10.00
Pathtag Balance – $140.00
Closing Balance – $7,985.68
Cash on Hand – $0.00
Total Assets – $8,125.68

Transactions
12/21/2022 – $134.00 – Sales from Winter Solstice Event
12/19/2022 – $37.18 – Sales from Winter Solstice Event
12/7/2022 – ($6.00) – Monthly O365 Subscription
12/5/2022 – ($555.00) – Vehicle Decal merchandise purchase
12/2/2022 – ($25.00) – Web Server Subscription
12/1/2022 – $40.00 – Deposit from LCG event

2) Merchandise Inventory Control/ Credit Card processing. The WGA switched payment processing from Paypal to Square a few years ago because of the inventory tracking feature Square offers.
3) In-person sales. The WGA tries to have 2 people handling sales at events. The startup funds are cross counted.
4) Cash Handling. At the close of an event, Square does give us a summary of sales for reconciliation following.
5) The Monthly report, as above, then reflects the sales.

If anything, there probably needs to be written into the Board transition documents, the above information.

[Author]

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