EMCS Financial Policy (Enacted August 21, 2025, with Amendments)

• Travel Policy Amendment: Updated to reflect the EMCS Treasurer’s motion to increase the subsidy for the Symposium and in-person Board of Governors meetings. This motion was reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors and Officers-at-Large on August 21, 2025.
• Operational Alignment Amendment: Updated to align the Financial Policy with current operational practices. This motion was reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors and Officers-at-Large on August 21, 2025.

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 Executive Committee of the Society shall manage the Society’s finances in accordance with IEEE policy/guidance and the Society’s Constitution & Bylaws.   (Section 8)

The Finance Committee shall maintain a three-year program budget plan and present to the Board of Directors, at its first current year meeting, a “next fiscal year” preliminary 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 May 15th.

The Finance Committee, which meets at least three times per year, coinciding with an extended (usually in-person)  BoD meeting, shall review and manage the Society’s financial operations, reporting to the Board of any decisions immediately following the FinCom.  Variances of $5k or more in line items should be highlighted

II  Motion Impact Statement

All Motions presented to the Board of Directors 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 Travel to Board of Director Meetings:  Society President, Past-President, Directors and Officers, who have no financial support, may be granted a travel subsidy equivalent to airfare and hotel expenses (based upon IEEE allowed reimbursable travel expenses) to attend EMC-S Board of Directors meetings, including those held at the annual symposia.  A Volunteer Member Travel Authorization form is required to be submitted to the Treasurer and President for approval, prior to travel.

Annual Symposia Travel:  For annual symposia travel, only airfare or hotel nights during the days of the ExCom and Board meetings are reimbursable. Expenses are not to exceed the amount specified by the Board. This amount will be reviewed for adjustment periodically.

Non-Symposia Travel: Non-symposia travel includes one night before and one night after the meeting(s) as stipulated by the Treasurer. A cap will be established by the Board and determined based upon regions. This amount will be reviewed for adjustment periodically. These subsidies are applicable to hotel and airfare expenses only. 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 BoD 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.

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 Directors 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 shall be submitted through IEEE Concur.. The approval cycle and signatures are set by IEEE Rules within Concur. In the case where concur is not available, the Excel worksheet may be used.The President may sign in the absence or unavailability of the Treasurer.  A travel reimbursement request submitted to the Treasurer more than 30 days after the event may 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 Director also be a DL and schedule a presentation concurrent with travel to a Board meeting, reimbursement will be limited to the amount allowed for Director travel to Board meetings (Section III).

Each Distinguished Lecturer may undertake up to three subsidized or shared expense DL travels (and any additional travels at the discretionary approval by the DLP chair) each year, subject to the availabilty of the DLP funds. 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 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 $$2000 per trip (multiple engagements). 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 BoD in any such case no later than the following BoD 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  Bob Haislmaier Angel Fund

The EMC Society Board of Directors 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 “Bob 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.  Meeting expenses shall not exceed the budget allocation.