SDC Finance Meeting with Paula - Nov.13 2019

Date

Nov 13, 2019

Discussion Topics

1. Important accounting practices

   1. personal reimbursements

   2. team purchase methods

2. Sponsorships and donations

   1. conflict to avoid

3. General

Key Information

1a. Personal reimbursements

How long does it take to process one expense claim?

When you submit an expense form to Paula (SDC Finance Administrator) to be reimbursed, there is a 3 day turnaround time to send it off to Finance. Then Finance has an approximate 2 week turnaround time to issue a cheque. They only issue cheques on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Keep in mind the 2 weeks does not include the time it takes to get to you in the mail.

If you have not received your cheque in the mail after 15 working days, you can then contact Paula to follow up with Finance. You can also request on the expense claim form to pick it up from Finance in EC5.

Confusion about reimbursing gas costs

Fuel costs for private vehicles will not be reimbursed. Instead, the expense can be claimed through Travel. The traveler will be reimbursed $0.45 per kilometer. In the expense claim, a memo detailing the date(s), destination(s) and the number of kilometers driven for each part of the trip.

Expenses for gasoline or other fuels purchased for a team will only be reimbursed if it is used:

Check if the purchased item has been proposed at Endowment Funds

Before approving a personal reimbursement, check if the purchased item is one of the items requested at the Endowment Funds, such as WEEF, EngSoc (referring to the Consolidated Financial Information Spreadsheet, Endowment Fund Tab). If it is, the item should be reimbursed through WEEF, instead of normal personal reimbursement procedures.

It’s very important to do so because WEEF funds cannot be transferred into the team account. Once the requested item has been expensed via other ways, there’s no chance to get refunds from WEEF.

Travel Advance Request

A travel advance is available to pay for large, up-front costs associated with the trip, such as airfare, hotel, registration fees, etc.

The travel advance request must be made at least 10 business days prior to the trip. The claimant must include documentation to justify the amount requested. This can include

• A quote from a vendor, i.e. travel agency, vehicle rental company, hotel, etc.

• An estimated cost from an internet-based vendor, i.e. Expedia, etc.

basically any available documents that help the claimant estimate the costs. A travel advance request should also include a memo that explains the reason for the advance and summarizes all the costs.

After the trip is done, within 1 month, the claimant should submit all the receipts and other proper documentation that can match the costs estimated before the trip. If there are differences, the claimant would either need to pay back SDC or get more reimbursement.

1b. Team Purchase

Large/ frequent purchases from certain suppliers

New procedures for Digikey and McMaster Carr orders

see Digikey, McMaster Carr Orders & Team Account on Suppliers' Websites

2a. Conflict to Avoid

The sponsorship team should make it clear about whether the fund received is for sponsorship or donation. In one round of funding, the organization can not have both the charitable receipt and advertising.

3. General

The above points are emphasized by Paula during the meeting.

Detailed personal reimbursement process for individual purchase can be found at Reimbursements

More details about the use of different forms, team purchase through Procurement and the payment options for sponsors are available at Student Team Finance Manual 2019