Have you heard the news!? There’s a new community in the AIAS, and it’s the Council of Treasurers! Started to create a supportive and open dialogue about the oftentimes confusing world of chapter finances, all chapter treasures have access to this group via slack and optional meet-ups! There are so many more resources to come from this new council, and they met for the first in the Fall to chat about all things chapter finance.
The next meetings of the Spring Semester will be Sunday March 6th, 12 pm EST
There will be another meeting on Sunday April 24th, 12 pm EST – a great chance for new Treasurers to join after elections!
Here’s what you missed at the Fall meeting of the Council of Treasurers:
After a round of introductions, the first Council of Treasurers meeting kicked off! Vice President Shannon DeFranza led a slideshow presentation covering the foundation of financial knowledge and skills AIAS chapter treasurers should know. Here’s some important information that was highlighted during the presentation:
- The NEW Finance Committee email! For any and all questions relating to money, you can send your inquiries to finance@aias.org and a member of the Finance Committee will get back to you with an answer.
- The fiscal year change that was approved during FORUM 2021 Council of Presidents. The new fiscal year is now June 1st – May 31st which means that annual membership renews on June 1st each year. Another exciting change with the new membership portal is that members can now pay for their next year’s membership at any time during the year.
- The COP team drive (shared with all chapters via their “chaptername@aias.org” emails), has many great resources when it comes to finances and budgeting. Check it out by going to the 00_ AIAS COP TEAM DRIVE > 02_NATIONAL RESOURCES > 03_FINANCE. The So You’re the Treasurer Guide is also located there.
- The “So You’re the Treasurer Guide” should be your go-to document throughout your time in the position. It is a super readable guide that covers a variety of helpful topics all treasurers should know. An updated version to this guide is now available in the resources tab!
- Do not file your own taxes! AIAS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so the National Office files taxes for the entire organization each year. Also, all purchases made on behalf of AIAS are federal tax exempt! If you need a tax exemption letter, you can find it at AIAS.org > RESOURCES > FINANCE > TAX ID, NON-PROFIT STATUS, & FORMS.
After the presentation, we opened up the floor to general discussion and informal conversations. Something a lot of chapter treasurers can bond over are treasury horror stories. We went around and shared some of the challenges our chapters faced and how we overcame them, so fellow chapter treasurers could learn from each other.
If you missed out on this first call, the recording of the meeting can be found at aias.org/events/event-recordings/! Please join us at the future CoT meetings for you all to learn, network, and bond over being finance aficionados!