Updated July 2024
SECTION 14 – FINANCES
14.1 TREASURER AND VICE TREASURER
The treasurer and vice treasurer shall be appointed as described in Article V, Section 1 of the Bylaws. Notwithstanding other provisions of the Bylaws, the president shall appoint the treasurer and vice treasurer to a term of office up to but not exceeding two years.
The treasurer shall chair the Finance Committee. The treasurer be responsible for working with the Computer Society’s finance staff to review and present the Society’s annual budget, financial reports, and the finances of strategic initiatives to the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors.
The vice treasurer shall be responsible for assisting the treasurer, and chairing meetings of the Finance Committee in the event that the treasurer is unavailable.
The treasurer delegates the responsibility for day-to-day financial operations to the Computer Society financial staff under the direction of the executive director.
14.2 MEMBERSHIP
The Finance Committee is a standing committee of the Board of Governors, charged with recommending financial policy and budgets to the Board. It shall be composed of the treasurer (chair), vice treasurer, the president, president-elect, past president, and the secretary. The Society Executive Director and the appropriate finance and accounting staff member will be ex officio, non-voting members of the committee. The vice presidents or their representatives will be ex officio, non-voting members of the committee.
14.2.2 Committee Responsibilities
The Finance Committee serves as an oversight and advisory body. The committee is responsible for making recommendations on all financial matters to the Computer Society Board of Governors and for keeping them informed on financial status and issues.
The committee is responsible for reviewing and presenting the budget for the following year. The treasurer delegates the responsibility of monitoring and tracking the expenses to the staff finance director.
14.3.3 Meeting Scheduling
Finance Committee meetings are to be scheduled in such a way as to permit, to the extent possible, consideration of proposals having financial implications prior to their submission to the Board of Governors.
14.3 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT
14.3.1 Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Computer Society is 1 January through 31 December.
14.3.2 Financial and Budgetary Guidelines and Targets
Over the long term, the Computer Society should operate at levels which produce sufficient surpluses to maintain its reserves at levels which help ensure its continued financial health. Annual operating budgets should be consistent with this long-term objective. Reserves should be maintained to provide for the financial security of the Computer Society, to provide increased or new member services, to fund special projects, to provide initial start-up funding for new programs, to acquire capital equipment needed for the conduct of the Society’s programs, and to protect the Society from short-term financial exigencies.
Each year the Finance Committee should recommend and the Board of Governors should adopt an operating budget with the minimum budgeted surplus required by IEEE.
14.3.3 Budget Development Cycle
1. In the first Board of Governors meeting of the year, the treasurer provides a budget process overview to the board. Most of the budget items are predetermined by IEEE. The Finance Committee asks the program boards to identify new initiatives that will require funding in the following year’s budget.
2. In the first half of the year, the vice presidents and chairs of each board and standing committee discuss and assess new initiatives and new activities that they would like to recommend for inclusion in next year’s budget.
3. In April, Technical Activities (TA) finance managers distribute proposed-page-count budgets for each publication, based on historical production data. Starting with the historical baseline, the Computer Society staff creates an estimated budget for the pages and presents it to the treasurer, vice treasurer, and the VP of Publications. The Publications Board approves, and the staff submits changes to the proposed page budget that is used as the basis for publication production expenses in the First View (target) budget.
4. In May and June, the Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Board, along with staff, works on the renewal product offering (which includes any updates to the membership dues and periodicals) and sends it to the TA Membership and Periodical teams for next year’s catalog. Member dues and periodical prices, pages and frequencies are approved by the Board of Governors and are approved by IEEE Board of Directors in June.
5. In late June or early July, each CS Program Board VP talks with their staff director to finalize each program area budget for the next year.
6. In June, the Finance Committee reminds the Board of Governors about the budget milestones and discusses new initiatives to be funded. The treasurer, working with the finance director and executive director, creates a running list of new initiatives and activities identified for possible new spending in the following year. The treasurer, executive director, and finance director then work with the Computer Society vice presidents to prioritize the list to allow for flexibility if the budget received from IEEE does not accommodate all new requests.
7. In July, the budget is developed in detail by the IEEE/TA finance team. They create and distribute the baseline budget called the First View (target) budget. The vice presidents and chairs of each board and standing committee, along with the staff, further refine and finalize the budget for their areas. The staff works on the estimation of revenue and expense for all the products and cost centers based on the historical data and any new proposed spending for activities and initiatives that weren’t in the previous year’s budget. The finance director consolidates all the information from all stakeholders and presents a draft to the treasurer.
8. In July or early August, the treasurer reviews, analyzes, questions, and approves the first pass budget. The treasurer presents the budget and financial reports to the Finance Committee for endorsement followed by an approval from the Board of Governors. The budget has to be updated in the IEEE financial system by mid-August.
9. Based on the IEEE’s first-view budget release date and the budget submission deadline, the dates for the Finance Committee meeting and Board meeting dates are determined.
10. The final budget approved by the Board of Governors is sent to the IEEE by the IEEE deadline, typically in August.
14.3.4 Off-Cycle Budget Modifications
All proposals resulting in full-year equivalent budget modifications of over $100,000, including new off-cycle staff positions, shall be presented to the Finance Committee prior to presentation to the Board of Governors for approval. It shall be the responsibility of the Finance Committee to make recommendations to the Board of Governors on such proposals.
Budget modifications falling below the $100,000 threshold may be approved by the Finance Committee.
All new staff positions shall be approved by the Computer Society Executive Director, the IEEE Managing Director of Technical Activities, and the IEEE Executive Director.
Out-of-cycle allocation of set-aside funds in any amount shall be approved by the Finance Committee.
14.3.5 Budget Amendments
The Board may, by resolution at any meeting or via between-meeting ballot as provided elsewhere in this manual, amend the budget for any line item, either implicitly or explicitly. An amendment should be within the overall approved annual budget, which cannot change once it is approved and submitted to IEEE. An explicit amendment states a dollar amount to be associated with a specific budget line. Implicit amendments are associated with approval of a new program or service, the proposal for which sets forth the budgetary impact, the approval of a new off-budget cycle staff position, and other similar actions which affect the budget. The treasurer shall revise the budget as appropriate and the new budget is known as the amended budget.
14.4 EXPENDITURE APPROVAL
14.4.1 Expenditure Approval within the Approved Base Budget
The existence of an approved base budget gives to the president, to the Executive Committee, and to each vice president, and to the standing committee chairs, within their respective areas of responsibility, the authority to approve expenditures within their respective budgets. Expenditures for reimbursements for travel expenses shall be approved according to current Computer Society regulations, operating guidelines and manuals for each program area.
The president and vice presidents may, by writing to the treasurer, delegate their authority to approve expenditures to a total within or below the dollar amount specified for specific budget line items in the approved base budget to specific Computer Society members who require it by virtue of their offices. Persons with authority to approve expenditures have the responsibility to stay within the authorized total. The appropriate finance and accounting staff member will provide budget versus actual reports to the treasurer on a regular and timely basis; and the treasurer will report these to the Finance Committee and the Board of Governors during regular meetings throughout the year.
14.4.2 Expenditure Approval in Excess of the Approved Budget
Incremental expenditures for specific account number items which cause the total amount spent for those items to exceed the budgeted amount, may be approved by the following parties until the cumulative totals indicated are reached:
Executive Committee — $25,000 or less per operating or capital budget line item per meeting up to a cumulative total (across all budget lines and meetings) of 5% of the approved base budget.
President — $10,000 or less per operating or capital budget line item up to a cumulative total of 2.5% of the approved base budget.
No vice president or standing committee chair has the authority to spend in excess of their total budget allocation. Vice presidents and standing committee chairs do have the authority to authorize expenditures within a cost center that vary from the approved budget at the individual budget line detail level as long as the cost center total budget is not exceeded. Similarly, the Computer Society Executive Director may authorize variances from individual budget lines for office operations but may not exceed the approved total office operations budget.
14.4.3 Financial Exigency
The Executive Committee may limit or suspend the expenditure authority associated with any account or set of accounts due to fiscal irregularities or financial exigency. Any such limitation must be reported in complete detail to the Board within 30 days by the person who was treasurer at the time.
14.5 TRAVEL REGULATIONS
14.5.1 Permission to Travel Using Computer Society Funds
Permission to travel using Computer Society funds shall be approved in advance by the responsible officer.
14.5.2 Staff Travel
Staff travel shall be approved by the Computer Society Executive Director or other staff manager to whom that responsibility has been delegated by the Computer Society Executive Director.
14.5.3 Permissible Charges
All travel expenses should be reasonable and customary. Non-refundable economy class is the standard for IEEE business travel. Economy class is defined as the basic coach fare, which is the lowest fare offered by the airline. Economy class tickets that include an assigned seat are reimbursable. Upgrades such as extra leg room, priority boarding, Premium Economy, Economy Plus, or purchase of a “refundable” ticket, etc. are permissible if pre-approved by the Computer Society President. Any non-standard airfare purchased requires the additional approval by the Computer Society President.
Travel insurance for trip cancellation or lost baggage is permitted. Travel insurance for medical coverage or hybrid travel insurance policies that include any type of medical coverage will not be reimbursed. The Computer Society will pay penalties associated with the cancellation or change of discounted tickets for authorized Society travel of volunteers or staff caused by circumstances beyond the traveler’s control. If railroad fare or personal mileage charges exceed the coach air fare available at the time, only the airfare cost will be allowed. Rental automobiles are allowed when public transportation would not normally be utilized for personal travel, or when the use of a rental car is more economical than travel by common carrier.
The lowest cost form of local travel should be used whenever timely and safe. Use of one’s personal automobile may be reimbursed at the current rate per mile established by the IEEE. Total expenses, including tolls, may not exceed allowable airfare and expenses which would have been incurred if air transportation were used. Current IEEE policies (e.g., rental automobile collision insurance, piloting private aircraft, etc.) also apply (see IEEE Finance Operations Manual).
Allowable room charges are those which would be incurred by a prudent traveler. Food and beverage charges, including tips, in excess of $25 per transaction shall be accompanied by original receipts and justification.
All other expenses incurred during the course of travel on Computer Society business not explicitly listed herein should be reasonable and customary.
14.5.4 Travel Expense Accounting – Procedure for Reimbursement
Requests for reimbursement are submitted electronically via the IEEE financial system for review and processing. If prior approval for travel has not been obtained, the reimbursement form shall be approved by the responsible vice president or other officer. Travel expense accounting shall be filed within 45 days of the completion of the travel. The appropriate finance and accounting staff member is responsible for assuring that travel expenses are within Computer Society policy before authorizing reimbursement unless specific exceptions have been approved. The appropriate finance and accounting staff member is responsible for seeing that appropriate documentation of expenses is provided by travelers requesting reimbursement.
14.6 RECEIPT AND DISBURSEMENT OF COMPUTER SOCIETY FUNDS
The treasurer is responsible for monitoring income, disbursements, and all Computer Society assets in keeping with Society policy.
Responsibility for disbursements is delegated by the treasurer to the Computer Society Executive Director, who in turn delegates financial authority to other Society staff, doing so in a formal memorandum of financial authority that explicitly sets forth the level of authority of each staff position.
All receipts and disbursements are recorded and reported in monthly financial statements to the treasurer and other volunteer leaders, as appropriate.
The treasurer reviews the financial reports and reports them to the Finance Committee and Board of Governors in the treasurer’s report during each board meeting.
14.7 FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
Financial operation is performed in accordance with the IEEE Finance Operations Manual.
On a day-to-day basis, the Computer Society finance staff is responsible for monitoring and reporting the current year revenue, income, and expenditures relative to budget.
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