EMCS Financial Policy (enacted 8/22/02, with Amendment I)

• Section VII Angel Fund and Section VI DL Travel were changed to reflect Board of Governors (BoG) and Officers at Large approved August 2006 Motions
• Section VI DL Travel Amount Changed to reflect Board of Governors and Officers at Large approved August 2008 Motion

This policy supersedes all prior written or implied financial policy.

The Finance Committee Chair is responsible for maintaining this policy.

I  Financial Management

A Finance Committee Chaired by the immediate Past President and consisting of the Vice-Presidents and Treasurer shall manage the Society’s finances in accordance with IEEE policy/guidance and the Society’s Constitution & Bylaws.  (Constitution Article IV; Bylaws paragraphs 4.1, 7.3, 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5)

The Finance Committee shall maintain a three-year program budget plan and present to the Board of Governors and Officers at Large, at its first current year meeting, a “next fiscal year” preliminary balanced budget. The fiscal year shall be the same as the calendar year. The critical budget input parameters (Membership Fee, Non-Member Subscription Rate, Periodical Page & Issues budget) shall be approved at this first meeting of the year.  In the event the first Board meeting does not occur before April 15th, approval of the critical input parameters shall be accomplished by the Society’s e-mail motion process prior to April 15th.

The Finance Committee, on a quarterly basis, shall review the Society’s financial operations and if necessary “transfer” Committee/Other Cost Center funds from one sub-account line to another line item. VPs are responsible for the administration of their own approved budget account line and may transfer funds in an amount less than $5K between sub-accounts without BoG approval. Any overrun of the total Committee/Other Cost Center budget must be approved by the Board of Directors.

II  Motion Impact Statement

All Motions presented to the Board of Governors and Officers at Large shall include, prior to voting, an estimate of the financial impact of the Motion on the Society’s approved operational budget.

III  Travel Expense Subsidy

Society Director or Officer Loss of Adequate Resources:  A sitting Governor or Officer who had adequate resources at the time of election and loses same may request financial assistance to continue his or her participation in Board meetings.  A letter requesting funding assistance and explaining the circumstances shall be submitted to the Finance Committee who may grant up to full support to attend two Board meetings per year.  Requests for this category of financial assistance should be submitted at least 45 days prior to the need for assistance. Financial assistance is valid only during the current term of office, and will not apply if the Governor or Officer is re-elected without adequate financial resources.

Society Governors or Officer Inter-regional Travel: Society Governors and Officers residing in IEEE Region 8, 9, or 10 may be granted a travel subsidy equal to 100% of the first $500 and 80% of the balance in an amount not to exceed $2,000 (based upon IEEE allowed reimbursable travel expenses) to attend EMC-S Board of Governors and Officers at Large meetings held in IEEE Regions other than their home Region.  Society Directors and Officers residing in Regions 1-7 may be granted a similar subsidy to attend an EMC-S Board of Governors and Officers at Large meeting in Region 8, 9, or 10. Note:  All amounts are in US dollars.

Society Elected Officer: A person nominated for an Officer position should have adequate resources to perform the functions of that office.  If the nominee does not have adequate resources, he or she shall inform the Nominating Committee Chair of that fact at the time of accepting the nomination.  The Nominating Chair shall inform the BoG or Officer of the nominee’s required financial assistance at the time the nomination slate is presented to the Board.  If the Board elects the nominee, it also shall be considered as approval of the individual’s financial assistance needs.

Designated Society Representative:  A person to be appointed to represent the Society at a given non-EMC-S event or to a TAB Council shall, prior to acceptance, state whether or not he or she requires financial assistance and the level of support required.  Board confirmation of the appointment shall constitute approval of financial assistance.

Society Committee Chair:  A person nominated for a Committee Chair position should have adequate resources to perform the functions of that office.  If the nominee does not have adequate resources, he or she shall inform the Board prior to Board confirmation of the appointment.  Board confirmation of the appointment shall constitute approval of financial assistance.

Governors/Officers may not be reimbursed for travel to attend meetings held at Symposia sites if traveler would normally attend that conference if not a Governors or Officer.

IV  Prior Approval

No one shall be reimbursed for expenses unless he or she has prior approval to incur such an expense.  Written approval must be obtained at least 15 days before commitment of funds from the Vice-President responsible for the account to be charged for the expense.  The VP authorizing the expense shall send a copy of the approval letter to the Treasurer.  VPs, for their own requests, must obtain prior approval from the President and meet the same 15 day advance notice requirement.  Prior approval is automatically granted if an expense is incurred in accordance with a Board of Governors and Officers at Large Approved Motion that includes a specific dollar value, (for example, a specified travel subsidy for a given event or the purchase of a Society asset).  The Secretary and Treasurer are granted prior approval to incur routine office expenses in the performance of their duties. Also, the President shall not need prior approval to incur expense under his discretionary account.  Approval may NOT be granted for an expense that will exceed an approved budget line.

V  Expense Reimbursement

All expense reports must be submitted to the Treasurer for review, approval and forwarding to the appropriate IEEE office. Expense reimbursement requests require two approval signatures. The first approval signature shall be the VP or President granting prior authorization to incur an expense.  The Society Treasurer is always the second approving authority.  (The President may sign in the absence or unavailability of the Treasurer.)  The Treasurer or President may not approve their own reimbursement request. The second signature in this case is waived.  To facilitate the two-signature process for all other reimbursement requests, the “prior approval” letter (Section IV) shall be considered as the first approval signature.  The exceptions are a reimbursement request for an item covered by a Board of Governors and Officers at Large approved motion and Secretary or Treasurer routine office expenses.  Also, BoG and ExCom meeting expenses or other specific pre-approved budget line item expenses are exempt from the two-signature requirement.  A travel reimbursement request submitted to the Treasurer more than 90 days after the event will not be honored.  Approval of all travel reimbursement requests will be based on compliance with IEEE guidelines. 

VI  DL Travel

Administration of the Distinguished Lecturer reimbursement guidelines is assigned to the Member Services VP.  Should a Governor or Officer also be a DL and schedule a presentation concurrent with travel to a Board meeting, reimbursement will be limited to the amount allowed for Governor or Officer travel to Board meetings (Section III).

Each Distinguished Lecturer may present a maximum of six subsidized or shared expense talks each year. The EMC Society will reimburse Distinguished Lecturer’s travel expenses for approved speaking engagements up to a recommended limit of $1,500 per engagement, but this is subject to negotiation and program budget constraints. (When travel expenses for any single trip will exceed this amount, the Lecturer shall obtain prior approval from the Distinguished Lecturer Committee Chair and the Member Services VP before making travel arrangements.) In addition, the EMC Society will reimburse current or former Distinguished Lecturers up to $2,000 per engagement for presentations to EMC Chapters overseas

The VP for Member Services may approve an increased funding for Intra-Region, international DL travel (or in other special cases, not covered by the current DL Travel Policy), not to exceed a total of US$1,500 per engagement. Requests for increased funding shall be provided by the DL including due justification and the recommendation of the DL committee chair. Requests for increased funding must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the said engagement.

The approval of the VP for Member Services must be obtained prior to finalizing lecture arrangements. The VP for Member Services shall report to the Board of Governors and Officers at Large in any such case no later than the following Board of Governors and Officers at Large meeting. Sharing of expenses between the benefiting organization and the EMC Society is encouraged. For example, the benefiting organization could provide local transportation for the Lecturer, provide meals, etc. Expense reimbursement for Distinguished Lecturers shall follow the procedure in Section V above.

VII  Angel Fund

The EMC Society Board of Governors and Officers at Large is authorized to provide Chapters with additional financial support for activities under certain circumstances. This program which falls under the auspices of the VP Member Services, is called the Haislmaier Angel Program. The funding provided is intended to allow chapters to host programs for their members that they would otherwise have difficulty in funding. Activities intended to be funded by other means (e.g., Distinguished Lecturer Program or participation fees) are not eligible for Angel Fund financing. However participation fees may offset other costs in a program, such as food, when the speaker is an invited guest. Requests for support from an EMC-S Chapter program should be submitted by the Chapter Chairperson to the Chapter Angel for approval using the appropriate application form. Sufficient information should be provided to the “Angel” to allow the “Angel” to evaluate the request. Upon approval of the planned event, the “Angel” will forward the request to the Society Treasurer with a copy to the VP for Member Services for final approval of the funding. The Chapter Angel can authorize up to a maximum of $600 in financial support per year. Each Chapter may submit multiple requests per year to receive funding from the Bob Haislmaier Angel Fund as long as the total sum received per year does not exceed $600. Chapters may not combine activities for the purpose of obtaining the $600 and each request shall be submitted, justified and considered separately. The Chapter shall have an authorized bank account to receive funds. No check shall be made payable to an individual. Upon both approvals the EMCS Treasurer will have IEEE headquarters issue a check or bank transfer for the approved amount to the chapter.

VIII Board/Committee Meetings

The cost of Board/Committee meetings shall be limited to room rental, audio/visual aids, one “break” per 4 hours of scheduled meeting and meal functions during full day meetings.  Meal service shall normally be limited to $75.00 (exclusive of taxes and service charges which are added) per Board/Committee member per day if three food functions are served in conjunction with the meeting.  If the meeting adjourns prior to 6:00 PM, food service may be provided for two food functions.  The cost of the two meal functions shall be limited to $40.00 (exclusive of taxes and service charges which are added) per Board/Committee member per day.  No alcoholic beverages may be included with the meal service. The EMCS annual dinner for Board members may include alcoholic beverages. These beverages shall not be approved expenses under this policy but shall be paid for by an individual levy on those participating.