FAQs: FINANCIAL / GOOD STANDING
Accounting Software
- Q. If I use a computer accounting program such as Quicken, Quick
Books, etc., do I still need to complete the Bank Reconciliation, Cash Receipts, and Cash
Disbursements forms?
-
A. No, all that National requires if you use such a program is to submit your three
months of bank statements and the quarterly reports that your accounting program runs for the
given quarter.
Chapter Budgets / Finances
-
Q. The past treasurer told me our chapter can not show a profit on our budget.
That doesn’t make sense to me. Don’t we have to have an income in order to keep running year to year
?
-
A. I don't understand your past treasurer's statement, except that they might have been
thinking your chapter should not have a lot of excess funds, which is somewhat true. Ideally, chapters
should have enough operating funds for one year's operations. Many chapters have more money than that,
and will invest the excess to help produce income for future chapter events, and even donate money to
charities or the AACN Scholarship Fund. And, our Finance Department is available if needed to help
counsel chapters on how to invest their excess funds. If you need help with your budget, please let us
know at chapters@aacn.org.
Financial Reporting
- Q. I am the new treasurer for our chapter. Could you please tell
me how long the chapter needs to keep old financial records?
-
A. According to the Chapter Charter Agreement, chapters should keep the following
records for 3 years:
- Business Records:
-
- Meeting minutes from all Committee Meetings
- Meeting minutes from all Chapter Board Meetings
- Membership Records
- Financial Records:
-
- Bank Statements
- Cash Receipts Records
- Cash Disbursement Records
- Bank Reconciliation Statements
- Quarterly Financial Reports
- Q. I faxed my quarterly financial report, annual check signer,
and annual chapter audit forms before the 8/15 deadline on 8/1, but my chapter’s Good
Standing grid didn’t show "completed" until 8/3. Why?
- A. First, thank you for
submitting your reports before the deadline! We encourage all chapters to submit their
reports as soon as they area ready rather than waiting for the deadline.
Second, all faxed reports and forms have to be reviewed for completeness before they are
marked as "completed" on the Good Standing grid. Therefore, please allow 48-72 hours after
submission of your financial reporting forms for your status to be indicated on your Good
Standing grid.
- Q. If my chapter has completed any financial reporting forms
ahead of the "due date" on the website, can I submit them?
-
A. Yes! National has set the due date for quarterly Chapter Financial Reports 45
days after the close of the quarter. With many chapters using online banking they can print
bank statements and complete financial reports very quickly after the close of the quarter and
we encourage you to do so and submit your reports as soon as you complete them.
- Q. My chapter is not in "good standing" because of missing
financial reports from previous years. I don't have any way to get all the required
information to complete the missing financial reports. What should I do?
-
A. All chapters are required to keep their records for 3 years. However, if this
happens please notify Brian Cushman, Chapter Financial Accountant. Brian’s contact info is:
- Q. If there was no activity in any of our chapter's bank accounts
for a given month do I still need to complete all the financial forms?
-
A. No, the only thing that National requires is the bank statement for that given month
to confirm there was no activity.
- Q. Our chapter is very diligent about submitting our quarterly
financial reports on time. Yet, we’re sometimes contacted that we haven’t turned in our reports,
and then have to send them in again. Why is that?
-
A. We applaud your efforts to submit your financial reports according to the due dates.
Oftentimes there’s confusion about what constitutes complete financials. Chapters must include
all of the following items in each quarterly report:
- Bank statements for the 3 month reporting period = 3 pieces
- Cash receipts records for the 3 month reporting period = 3 pieces
- Cash disbursement records for the 3 month reporting period = 3 pieces
- Bank reconciliation records for the 3 month reporting period = 3 pieces
- Total number of pieces that constitute complete quarterly financials = 12 total pieces
If any of those pieces are not submitted, your financials are considered "incomplete."
The good news is that with the chapter website upgrade, chapters are now able to submit all of this
information online, with the exception of the bank statements. Bank statements may either be faxed
to Brian in Finance, or you may scan your bank statements and email them to him. It’s also
important to remember that any questions you have related to chapter finances should be directed to
Brian Cushman, Chapter Financial Accountant. Brian’s contact info is:
- Q. The new Authorized Check Signer Form only has 2 lines for the
Chapter President and Treasurer. Our chapter has more officers that we would like to put on
the account. Is this a problem?
-
A. No. AACN only requires the President and Treasurer, but you may have more than 2
chapter officers as authorized signatures. If your chapter has a President-Elect and/or a
Treasurer-Elect they can be added as well.
- Q. Is my chapter "sales tax exempt" because AACN is a non-profit
organization?
-
A. No, chapters are not "sales tax exempt" simply because they are part of AACN. A
chapter must apply for sales tax exempt status from the state in which the chapter resides.
Currently the states that AACN is "sales tax exempt" in are the following:
- Florida
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- Q. Where can I obtain the forms that I need to submit?
-
A. All forms are located on the Chapter area of the web site under Chapter Forms.
- Q. Our chapter awarded two NTI scholarships to chapter
members. Is there anything special we need to note on our Quarterly Financial
Report?
-
A. Any chapter that gives money as a grant or scholarship needs to include it
on the Cash Disbursements Worksheet in your Quarterly Financial Report using expense
code 53002. Make sure to include the recipient's name, address, and amount they were
awarded – you can record that information directly below the worksheet itself, or on
the next tab/page. This information is required for National AACN to include on its
Federal tax return.
Likewise, whenever a chapter receives any grant or scholarship money, they need to
record it on their Cash Receipts Worksheet in their Quarterly Financial Report using
revenue code 41408. Make sure to include who the monies were received from, their
address, and the amount received – you can record that information directly below the
worksheet itself, or on the next tab/page. This information is also used in
preparation of National AACN's annual Federal tax return.
Also, don't forget that all sponsorship and grant agreements must be reviewed and
approved by National AACN before you enter into or sign them.
Non-Employee Compensation Form
- Q. If I pay an individual an honorarium less than $600 in a year,
am I required to complete the Non-Employee Compensation Form and submit it to National AACN
for that year?
-
A. Yes. Because all chapters operate under National AACN's Federal Tax ID #, AACN must
report the cumulative total paid to all individuals by all chapters on one form. This
information is gathered from the individual Non-Employee Compensation Forms submitted by each chapter.
This means that even if your specific chapter may have only paid an individual $200 during the calendar
year, that same individual may have spoken at other chapters during the same year and National AACN is
responsible for reporting all monies paid to that individual. So all chapters should
keep a record of all non-employees you pay monies to in a calendar year, and then submit the Non-Employee
Compensation Form to AACN National. Even if your chapter did not pay out any monies to non-employees,
your chapter should still submit the form with "$0 – no monies paid out this
year" noted on the form so that we have the appropriate paperwork should the IRS request to
see our records. The form is for a complete calendar year – January 1 through December 31 – and should be
submitted to National AACN by the following January 15th. For example, the 2008 Non-Employee Compensation
Form is for January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008. It should be submitted by January 15, 2009.
- Q. It is the end of the year and in reviewing my chapter's records, we have
paid individuals for honorariums but never recorded their tax ID # and address and now have no way of
contacting them. What should we do?
-
A. Even if your chapter did not obtain any of this information please include at least the
individual's name and the amount that you paid them on the Non-Employee Compensation Form. Since many of
these individuals will speak at several chapter programs, chances are we have the required information
from another chapter or it is currently in our system. However, you should not assume that is the case.
To avoid the headache and frustration of trying to get this information at year-end, please make a point
to request this information from the individual prior to paying them any honorarium. This is done by
having that individual complete an IRS W-9 Form. Click on the following link to obtain the W-9 form:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
or search "IRS W-9 Form" in your computer web browser.
-
Q. We gave one of our chapter members a scholarship to attend NTI. Do we need to add that payment to the Non-Employee Compensation Form?
-
A. No, this would be a chapter expense (scholarship), so you would not include it on the Non-Employee Compensation Form. The Non-Employee Compensation Form is to record monies your chapter paid to someone when you "hired" them to perform a service. An example is when you hire a speaker to present at a chapter event, and pay the speaker an honorarium.
-
Q. We are planning a chapter educational event with local speakers, one of whom is not charging us an honorarium. We are paying her airfare and accommodations for one night. Do we still need her to fill out a W-9 Form?
-
A. No. You do not need to have that speaker submit a W9 and would not include that individual on your Non-Employee Compensation Form.
** Please submit your questions about chapter financial management and/or Good Standing to chapters@aacn.org. Thank you!
|
